Urusei Yatsura: Return to Me
by Ferngully
Summary: Complete! Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, & Mendou are on a surreal journey that none of them actually know they've even begun, a journey that starts one day at the Tomobiki Summer Carnival. But where will it eventually lead them and what truths will they discover?
1. Episode 1: The Final Curtain Call

Okay, here's my first try at UY fic (besides a poem I wrote); it'll be eight chapters and it's called "Urusei Yatsura: Return to Me." It might gets kind of strange sometimes, especially with some of the transitions, like at the end of this chapter and the beginning of the next, but just go with it! LOL! It will all make (mostly, anyway) some sense by the end! I haven't seen all of UY (I mean, there's over two hundred eps, for crying outloud!), but I hope I did an all right job with the characterization and such; it's just so hard because all the characters are so quirky, but I tried my best. I guess this story is more serious then comedic, but serious in a light-hearted sort of way and not an overly-dramatic sort of way (I mean, this story has a PG rating, so it's nothing too devastating or anything!). It's sort of like Beautiful Dreamer was or Lum the Forever or even the Final Chapter or one of the more serious episodes of the TV series. I can't really explain it...well, I guess you'll see!

Anyway, the main focus of the story is Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, and Mendou and they're the only characters from the series who appear in this first chapter/episode. Others will appear briefly later on, but most won't play major roles or even really be playing themselves (although Megane gets a soliloquy in chapter 5 which has already been written out; and Ryuunosuke gets a highlighted scene in chapter 3). I'd figure I'd warn you, just in case for some reason you hate Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, and Mendou and like one of the other characters so that you don't start reading this hoping that everyone else is going to show up and be in it a lot.

Also, chapters 5 and 6 are supposed to be a more light-hearted version of the last two episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion (I have meticulously planned out all eight chapters of this story already...sad, isn't it?), just so you all know, but I'll remind you again once I get around to writing and posting them...The main objective of the story is really to show four high school kids growing up and the four I chose happen to be Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, and Mendou (he's referred to by his first name, Shutaro, in the narration, which was kind of weird to do because I'm so used to calling him Mendou, but I always use first names in narration) Anyway, here's what you need to know for this episode:

Urusei Yatsura: Return To Me

Episode 1: The Final Curtain Call

Subtitle: (Truth, Part One: The Problem with Not Knowing)

Feauturing:

-A Selection from Ataru's Overture

-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part One (The First Step Towards…)

-The Tomobiki Carnival, Part Two (The Fortune Teller, By Trade)

-A Remake of the Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Three

With that, here we go!

A Selection From Ataru's Overture  
  
Ataru stood at the edge of the cliff, a dark gray sky hanging over him and cold black rocks resting far beneath him. His feet stood at the edge, the tips of his sneakers dangling off as a few miniscule pebbles broke off from the cliff and fell to the jagged abyss below. Ataru's eyes watched as far as they could as the pebbles dropped down, although in a short moment they were gone from sight, overwhelmed by the darkness with their tiny size. He thought he heard them patter, though, as they hit the rocks, but then he thought again about it, and figured it was probably just his imagination - or maybe just the wind.  
"Darling!" a voice cooed and Ataru, with desperate hope in his eyes looked up from his dark fate toward the gray sky. There was a light there - a light amongst the cold ash that plagued the sky - a light that had taken the shape of a smiling Lum.  
"Lum!" Ataru called back and reached a hand out to the brilliant white shadow of the blue-haired alien that floated a few yards above and away from him. A few more pebbles tumbled from under his sneakers and his body froze as the figure's light danced in his eyes. But although the light danced, there was nothing but darkness in Ataru's forlorn eyes as he dropped his hand to his side, knowing full well that the girl or light or whatever it exactly was that stood before him was not Lum. Lum did not exist; she was just a figment of his imagination, just like everything else. And if she did exist, the glowing shadow before him certainly wasn't her. That's right - it was a shadow, a beautiful shadow, but a shadow nonetheless; a shadow of a memory of something that may or may not have been real. But that certainly wasn't Lum.  
And what if she was a memory of something that had been real, rather than the other more frightening possibility? Ataru had been toying with that question for some time now as he stood upon the cliff. There was no reason to trust what had been told to him, after all; Lum could very well exist and it could simply be his imagination telling him she didn't.  
Ataru frowned and looked back down the cliff to the jagged rocks. There was little left to do now, except to do the only thing he could do; it would be the only way he could find out the truth about Lum, he knew. And if he were to discover she wasn't real, death was a much brighter fate than living a life not only without Lum, but living a life knowing that all the memories he ever had of Lum were really just illusions. Besides, it was the only way Ataru could think of.  
Raising his head again, Ataru glanced back up at the illustrious shadow above before shaking his head resolutely and dropping his eyes from the image so his gaze was set straight ahead. Then, he took a step back, took a deep breath, and, with fear clawing in his stomach and a running start, jumped off the edge of the cliff.  
  
Urusei Yatsura: Return to Me  
  
Episode 1: The Final Curtain Call Subtitle: (Truth, Part One: The Problem with Not Knowing)  
  
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part One (The First Step Towards...)  
  
"Come on, Darling!" Lum called out to Ataru as Ataru yawned, trailing a few yards behind at the annual Tomobiki Summer Carnival. Lum, excited grin on her face and the early morning sunlight shining brightly on her cheeks, quickly flew to him and took his arm, tugging at it gently. "Darling!"  
"I'm going as fast as I can," Ataru muttered and then asked, "Do you have to tug on my arm like that?"  
Lum frowned slightly as her feet touched the ground, although she still kept her arm around his. "Darling, aren't you happy at all? This is supposed to be fun!"  
"Yeah, yeah..." Ataru trailed off with little enthusiasm. "But that doesn't mean you have to hang on to me all the time..."  
"But this is supposed to be a date, Darling!" Lum insisted, smiling again and pulling his arm close to her.  
"Date?!" Ataru questioned in panic as he tried to pull his arm away from her. "Who said anything about a date?! This is just a friendly outing!"  
With a glint of fury in her eyes, she exclaimed loudly, "Darling!" as a few small sparks surged from her, causing the people in the crowded path to stare over at the squabbling couple with some worry.  
Luckily for Ataru, before he had the chance to say anything too stupid that would have caused Lum to shock him, Shinobu and Shutaro arrived, Shutaro carrying a tray with three very large cherry snow cones. Lum immediately grinned and released Ataru, flying over to the colorful snow cones with bright, child-like eyes, and Ataru reluctantly followed her. He frowned, however, in puzzlement, as he looked down at the tray and counted the snow cones. "Hey, Mendou, there's only three here. Didn't you want any?"  
Shutaro narrowed his eyes and gave Ataru a vicious glare before abruptly jolting the tray away from Ataru's grasp. "Who said I was getting YOU anything?" Ataru's mouth dropped before Lum quietly offered, "Don't worry, Darling; you can have some of mine." Ataru, however, ignored her, having already begun sneering at Shutaro and went to protest, but Shutaro was already addressing the two girls with a flashing grin. "Here, Miss Lum," he offered first. "Take your pick."  
A blood vessel began popping on the side of Shinobu's forehead and she gritted her teeth as she watched Lum giggle and take her snow cone from the tray with a sweet and energetic "thank you," annoyed that her date had chosen to give Lum the first choice rather than herself. However, as soon as Shutaro turned to her with his handsome smile and a polite, "Miss Shinobu," Shinobu's anger quickly subsided as she gave him her brightest smile, which she suddenly worried didn't come anywhere near as bright as Lum's palest smile, causing her own smile to diminish slightly.  
"Thank you, Shutaro," Shinobu replied with pink cheeks.  
Shutaro, still with his usual handsome grin, said, "You're welcome, Miss - Hey!" Shutaro was cut off by Ataru, who had swiftly snatched the final snow cone from his tray and took a large bite out of it with a few devious snickers. A low growl escaped Shutaro's lips as he threw the tray to the ground and clenched one fist, tightly wrapping the other one around the handle of his kantana, although he kept the sword in it's sheath, and shouted, "Moroboshi!"  
"Jeez, Mendou, don't get so anal about everything," Ataru remarked casually, taking another bite from the snow cone. "It's not like you can't buy another one, anyway."  
Shutaro's eyes flared with rage. "Anal?!" he questioned, appalled by this insult, and went to pull his kantana from it's sheath. He half had it out when Lum excitedly cried out:  
"Let's go on that!"  
All three humans turned to where the Oni was pointing; a large carousel with colorful unicorns, light, bouncy music, and children playfully laughing as the ride spun gently about and the unicorns went up and down. As soon as all three saw it, however, they frowned.  
"Don't you think we're a little too old to go on the merry-go-round?" Shinobu inquired and Shutaro looked like he agreed, although he didn't dare say anything against Lum's proposal.  
"We are?" Lum asked innocently and she looked to Ataru. "Darling?"  
"Can't we go on one of the fast rides that spin around and stuff?" Ataru replied with a question.  
"Well, this one spins..." Lum trailed off as she watched the carousel, listening to the music box melody coming from it with a melancholy smile.  
"Not like that one, though," Ataru rebutted with a sly grin, pointing over to a fast spinning ride a few yards away from the golden carousel.  
"Oh, no; not that one," Shinobu protested, crossing her arms. "You know that ride's just designed to make you sick."  
"Miss Shinobu's absolutely right," Shutaro agreed, although he then frowned and added, "Although I think that's the case with most of these rides..."  
"Aw, come on!" Ataru exclaimed. He then snickered and raised an eyebrow. "You're not scared, are you, Mendou?"  
Shutaro scowled, his pride being mocked, and exclaimed in outrage, "Absolutely not!" Grabbing Shinobu's hand, he ordered the other three, "Come on!" and started heading toward the spinning ride ahead.  
"Hey, wait a second! I'm not going on that!" Shinobu argued in vain, Shutaro already so dead-set on going on the ride that he scarcely heard her protests, as Ataru began to snicker some more.  
Ataru then looked to Lum and then said, "Come on, Lum. Let's get going," before following the other two toward the ride.  
Lum frowned a bit, her eyes still set longingly on the carousel. "But...the carousel..." she said quietly, no one around to hear her for Ataru had already started on ahead. Still frowning, she let out a sigh and then reluctantly raised her feet from the ground and flew to catch up with them.  
Once the ride was over, the four somehow managed to stumble out of their seats with some nauseous groans, as did most of the others who were getting off the ride. Ataru's face was a pale green as he staggered out the exit and rested his back against the railing, muttering, "I feel sick," before placing his hand over his mouth as to keep from throwing up. Shutaro, with a hand over his stomach, forced himself to walk straight, although he wobbled a bit after a few steps, and then, with his free hand, grabbed onto the railing that Ataru leaned against to keep his balance. Shinobu, with both hands over her stomach and her face looking deathly pale, plopped down on the bench near the ride's exit, scolding, "I told you that the ride was just going to make us sick..." Even Lum looked dazed and dizzy as she woozily floated out the exit, hunched over slightly with one hand over her stomach and one to her forehead. "Why we ever listened to Moroboshi is beyond me," Shutaro added bitterly to Shinobu's scolding.  
With a grimace towards Shutaro, Ataru began, "Hey! You were the one who - " Ataru stopped, however, his face turning greener and he slammed both his hands over his mouth. However, this was not enough, and he immediately gulped and turned about, throwing up over the side of the railing. Shutaro, who stood beside him, immediately jumped away in disgust and stumbled over to where Shinobu was, taking a seat beside her while a cringing Shinobu grew even paler at the sound of Ataru vomitting.  
"Darling! Are you all right?" Lum asked, worriedly flying over to him, no longer seeming to be sick now that she noticed her darling was very ill.  
Meanwhile, Shinobu complained, "I can't believe this. We've been here for less that an hour and already we're too sick to do anything! It's not even eleven o'clock yet!" Shutaro frowned, but said nothing.  
Finally, Ataru pushed away from the railing, with the help of Lum, and then regained his balance, his normal color returning to his skin. He then grinned and exclaimed, "Well, I feel better! You guys want to get something to eat?" Both Shutaro and Shinobu groaned loudly in disgust and even Lum turned a bit pale again at the thought. Ataru chuckled and added, "Or maybe there's one of those haunted houses here..."  
"We are NOT going in a haunted house," Shutaro said, resolutely raising his chin and sternly crossing his arms. Both girls frowned a bit, but thought better than to argue with the delicate issue. Ataru, however, did not.  
"But haunted houses are fun, Mendou," Ataru persisted with a sly smirk. "So they're a little bit dark - "  
"Moroboshi," Mendou interrupted with a fierce and frustrated growl as he stood up, already losing his temper.  
"How about that?" Shinobu then asked and pointed to a big stand a few yards in front of them, the sign reading "Madame Wazuka Nozomi Suzambo III, Fortune Teller, By Trade."  
"You mean...get our fortunes read?" Shutaro asked with some doubt as he suspiciously eyed the stand.  
"Sure; why not?" Shinobu asked. "I think it might be fun." And Lum nodded in agreement.  
"It'll probably be bogus, though," Ataru remarked, however, and by the doubt in Shutaro's eyes, he seemed to agree. "Not that I'd be the one paying for it..." And Lum and Shinobu's pleading eyes went to Shutaro's doubtful ones.  
Shutaro, knowing that both girls were hopefully looking to him, folded his arms and let out a sigh. "Well...I guess we can see how much it costs first..."  
And both Lum and Shinobu grinned exitedly.  
  
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Two (The Fortune Teller, By Trade)  
  
"Hello? Is anyone here?" Lum was the first to call out when the four reached the vacant stand with curious frowns.  
"Maybe Madame Suzambo stepped out?" Shinobu suggested.  
"Maybe," Shutaro said curtly, his eyes growing more suspicious of the validity of the supposed "Fortune Teller, By Trade."  
"Is someone there?" a female voice spoke suddenly as a woman suddenly popped up from behind the stand, having been crouching on the ground, doing something or another; the four weren't exactly sure. They were, however, all startled, by the sudden appearance of the woman with her frizzy, bushy, tawny hair, big round glasses, long drab gray robe, and a puzzled, frazzled expression on her face. Upon noticing the four, the woman, who seemed only a year or two older than the others, grinned and exclaimed, "Oh! Customers!" She then frowned as she began talking to herself. "Damn it; I should have seen that one coming. Something must be off today. Some IDIOT probably screwed with SOMETHING; that must be it! Maybe it's the stars? Hmm...no, they seem all right. It certainly isn't the crystal ball; we all know that's a cheap gimmick." She let out a laugh at the thought. "Maybe it's - "  
"Um, excuse me?" Shinobu interrupted meekly.  
"Huh?" the woman looked back to the four. She then clapped her hands together and said, "Oh, that's right! I nearly forgot!" She let out a chuckling a bit nervously as the four exchanged some looks of doubt. "Well, do come in!" She gestured them into her booth where a round table sat with five chairs and a crystal ball on top. The four warily followed her in. "Allow me to introduce myself," she then began as she took her seat behind the crystal ball, "I am Wazuka Nozomi Suzambo the Third, Fortune Teller - by trade."  
"So...there were two others that came before you?" Ataru asked, taking a step toward the table.  
"Technically," Wazuka answered. "One was a teacher; the other was a stewardess. I'm the only fortune teller of the family, though, I'd have to say."  
"That's nice," Lum replied with an awkward smile, not exactly sure what else to say.  
"Well, what can I say? It's a gift!" Wazuka chuckled to herself as the others continued frowning. "Sit down! Sit down!" she then exclaimed. "Make yourselves comfortable!"  
"She seems a little off, if you ask me," Shutaro whispered to Shinobu as they sat.  
"Just try and be nice, I guess..." Shinobu whispered back.  
"Too bad she's so weird looking," Ataru muttered, taking his seat as well.  
"Darling!" Lum scolded him quietly, sitting last.  
"Now, then," Wazuka began, the wicked flicker of greed flashing in her eyes as she smirked, clasping her hands together. "Let us first discuss the matter of payment. I'll warn you, though, the balance of things is sort of a little...eh...this morning - some idiot must have screwed around with something - so the reading might be slightly...er...fragmented."  
"Fragmented?" Lum asked, but Wazuka shook her head.  
"Don't worry. I'm sure it's not that important...I mean, I KNOW it's not that important...well...sort of. Actually, that doesn't look too good now that I think about it...and what on earth is that doing over there?"  
"Just tell me how much it is," Shutaro interrupted impatiently.  
"5,500 yen. Each."  
"WHAT?" Shutaro questioned in outrage. "That's ridiculous!"  
"Well, I AM telling you your FUTURE," Wazuka argued.  
"Yeah - a fragmented one!"  
Wazuka let out a frustrated sigh, but gave in anyway. "FINE. Since you four seem to be on a 'double date' of sorts, and you both look like cute couples, I'll say...give me 11,000 yen all together. That's half off, you know."  
Shutaro, still not seeming very satisfied, muttered, "It's still a rip off, but..." He then reluctantly handed Wazuka the yen.  
"What can I say? The future is pricey," Wazuka remarked snidely as she collected her yen and pocketed it. She then gave him a smirk. "Besides, what are you complaining for. You are Shutaro Mendou, aren't you? Son of the richest man in all of Japan, am I right?"  
"I - " Shutaro stopped himself and narrowed his eyes. "How did you know that?"  
"Well, I AM a fortune teller; I'd hope I know something as simple as THAT."  
"See?" Shinobu whispered. "Maybe this really will be worth it."  
"Speaking of names, I suppose I should introduce the rest of you," Wazuka then said. "Let's see...Shinobu Miyake, Ataru Moroboshi, and...hmm...Lum,? The different planet thing is a bit tricky, especially with these current fortune telling conditions, but I'm pretty sure it's Lum."  
Lum nodded with a smile. "That's right."  
Wazuka sighed in relief. "Oh, good. Now then, let me gaze into my crystal ball..."  
"I thought you said the crystal ball thing was just a gimmick," Ataru commented with a smirk and Wazuka gave him a sneer.  
"You're INTERRUPTING!" she shouted at him and all four were silent. "Good!" Exhaling, she pushed her hand through her hair and said, "Now, as I was SAYING before being RUDELY cut off, I see that the four of you are on a double-date - unofficially, that is. It seems that half of you thinks it's a date and the other half doesn't..."  
"Well, it's obvious who the half that DOESN'T is," Shinobu muttered staring at the two boys in some disgust as did Lum.  
"Silence!" Wazuka snapped and Shinobu withdrew into her seat. Calming down, Wazuka continued, "Anyway, for our purposes, we'll just call it a double date. So...you four are all good friends, or so it seems...Lum's an alien, and you three are all students at Tomobiki High School...which Lum now attends in order to stay close to her 'darling' which is that idiot over there - no, not the rich idiot, the other idiot, just to clarify, although I'm guessing you already knew that."  
Shutaro, with an insulted expression on his face, questioned, "What do you mean the - "  
"I said SILENCE!" Wazuka shouted. "This is difficult enough as it is without you INTERRUPTING all the time!" There was a long pause of quiet before Wazuka took a deep breath and chose to speak again. "Anyway...yadda, yadda, yadda...okay, now the good stuff! You!" She pointed a finger to Shinobu and Shinobu nearly jumped out of her seat, cheeks turning pink.  
"Yes..?" she asked warily.  
"You are...very strong...physically. Mentally...mentally...you are...not so strong?" Wazuka asked herself aloud. "Yes! That's it! You're not so strong!" It seemed that Wazuka had to strain to come to this conclusion and Shinobu frowned, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Wazuka, with a sheepish smile, then added, "I'd...er...be more specific, but...uh...things are a bit blurry right now..."  
"That's all right...I guess..." Shinobu answered, trying to smile, but somehow frowning instead.  
"And you!" She now pointed to Lum. "You...um...there's something there...I just have to...wait! I think I got something! Try not to...dance...too much."  
"Dance too much?" Lum asked and then crossed her arms in some annoyance. "What kind of fortune is that?"  
"Hey, don't blame me for your crappy fortune; I'm not the one who picks them, you know."  
"Crappy?!" Lum exclaimed, slamming her hand against the table.  
"I'm just telling it like it is," Wazuka insisted. "And your fortune says something about not dancing too much. That it'll get in the way of...something else...that something else is kind of missing right now, though...but it's an important something else...I think..." Wazuka let out a frustrated sigh then and sneered, "Anyway, the point is not to dance too much, all right?"  
Lum let out a sigh herself as she leaned back in her seat, placing a pensive finger to her chin. "I suppose it could maybe be a metaphor for something else...what do you think, Darling?"  
Ataru shrugged. "I think this whole thing is bogus," and Shutaro just folded his arms with a scoff, vexed by the idea that he had probably been ripped off by a fraud.  
"It is NOT bogus!" Wazuka defended herself with raging eyes. "I already told you that it was FRAGMENTED!" The four cringed at the sound of the very frightening voice of the angry Wazuka. "YOU!" She now pointed to Ataru, still seething with animosity and with eyes narrowed behind her glasses. "I see many, many trials...MANY! And...a fish! I see...a...fish." She frowned slightly and Ataru crossed his arms with a scowl.  
"A fish?"  
"Yes."  
"That's just stupid."  
"Well, I can't help it if you have a stupid fortune, all right?!" Wazuka snapped furiously. She inhaled deeply then and, after holding the air in for a long moment, exhaled loudly. "And as for you!" Her eyes now shot toward Shutaro. "You are an idiot!"  
"Excuse me?" Shutaro questioned in shock, obviously insulted as Ataru began to snicker. Shutaro glared at him and snapped, "Shut up, Moroboshi!" just causing Ataru to laugh harder.  
"You heard me!" Wazuka then exclaimed. "Fool! Idiot! Stupid! Moron! Need I go on?"  
"NO!" Shutaro exclaimed in his outrage, but Wazuka ignored him and continued anyway.  
"Imbecile! Ignoramus! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"  
With narrowed eyes, Shutaro rose to his feet and slammed his hands on the table.  
"How dare you – "  
"Insult a member of the oh-so-prestigious Mendou Family? Yes, we already established who you are! But that doesn't change the fact that you're a pathetic fool! Pathetic and stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"  
"Well, why am I so stupid then, hmm?" Shutaro crossly questioned.  
"I..." Wazuka held the "I" for a very long time. And then: "...do not know." Shutaro sighed in frustration and slumped back into his seat. "The whole story's a bit fuzzy there, too...but wait!" Wazuka then grew excited as she shut her eyes tightly and put a hand to her forehead. Lum, Ataru, Shinobu, and Shutaro eagerly leaned forward, anxious to hear what the fortune tell had to tell them.  
"Beware of...men." The four frowned as did Wazuka.  
"Of men?" Shinobu questioned. "All of them?"  
"Uh..." Wazuka hesitated.  
"That's ridiculous!" Shutaro declared. "We'd have to avoid half of the population including myself!" Then, noticing Ataru, he added in a mutter, "Oh, and Moroboshi..."  
"Well...usually these predictions come with more details like...blond men or...men with big scars across their foreheads...or, well, something. But, alas, there is a piece missing to each premonition as there is a piece missing from the balance."  
"Hmm?" Lum inquired.  
"Oh...I don't really know the whole story myself. I WOULD, you see, but then I guess there wouldn't be a story to begin with!" Wazuka laughed then, a loud, forced laugh, as Shinobu frowned, Lum scrunched her eyebrows, Shutaro folded his arms, still somewhat cross, and Ataru rolled his eyes. "You SEE," Wazuka continued, leaning forward with an imperative look in her eye, "some IDIOT decided to mess with SOMETHING in the balance...at least, I think it's the balance. Maybe it's fate...or, well, I don't really know exactly for certain. I'm just kind of guessing, now, considering everything's kind of off today. Anyway, because this IDIOT, whoever he or she is, decided to screw around with fortune, I'M stuck getting only fragmented pieces of the future... Hmm...I wonder where the other pieces are going..." She then eyes Shutaro suspiciously. "YOU wouldn't know anything about this, now would you?"  
"Me? Why on earth would I know?" Shutaro snapped.  
"Well, your reading said that YOU'RE stupid and messing with the balance of fate and time IS pretty stupid..."  
"I didn't do it!" Shutaro defensively shouted.  
"No, Shutaro would never do that," Shinobu spoke up. "He wouldn't know how to. Besides, you said that fortune's a bit fuzzy right now...maybe it's wrong."  
"Wrong?" Wazuka was shocked by the word. "WRONG?! How can FORTUNE be wrong? That's like saying the STARS are wrong which they NEVER are! So some pieces may be missing; but the pieces that are there ARE right! I swear by it!"  
"This is ridiculous!" Shutaro decided as he rose to his feet and took Shinobu's hand. "We're leaving!"  
"But, Shutaro – " Shinobu went to protest, but was pulled up from her seat.  
"Fine! Fine!" Wazuka cried in exasperation. "He wouldn't have the capability to meddle with something as vast and as powerful!" Shutaro just growled fiercely as he gave a tug on Shinobu's arm and began dragging her toward the exit of the booth.  
"Maybe we should go, too, Darling," Lum whispered to him, worriedly looking up at the enraged Wazuka. Ataru gave a nod as the two rose and headed for the exit, as well, both Shutaro and Shinobu having already left. "Uh...goodbye, Miss Wazuka, m'am!" Lum called back to Wazuka as they left. "It was nice meeting you...I guess..."  
When Lum and Ataru stepped outside, they could already hear Shutaro heatedly complaining to Shinobu, both standing a few yards away from the booth and couldn't help but frown because of it. "What a waste of time and money!"  
"She wasn't too bad," Shinobu reasoned.  
"I say she was nuts," Shutaro flatly remarked.  
"Well...she was nice enough, I guess," Shinobu replied. "Except when she was calling you an idiot; that wasn't very nice."  
"Hmmph!" Shutaro crossed his arms in a huff, obviously still insulted by the memory. "She was a complete fool – changing fortune..."  
"Well, there are stranger things that have happened in Tomobiki," Lum chimed in as she and Ataru reached the two.  
"Oh, Miss Lum; I didn't see you there," Shutaro said upon noticing her. "But I suppose you're right; there have been stranger."  
"Unfortunately," Shinobu muttered bitterly. "Let's just hope that we can get through today normally..."  
"Hmm," Ataru casually changed the subject with a shiver. "It sure is cold all of a sudden."  
  
A Remake of the Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Three  
  
The snow fell gently down on the summer carnival, having piled four inches up on the ground thus four. "I just love summer snow showers!" Lum declared excitedly with a giggle as she flew a few feet up in the air and twirled about once, the snowflakes circling around her like diamond dust.  
"I must say, they are my favorite, Miss Lum," Shutaro agreed, smiling himself as he looked up at the snow.  
Shinobu nodded, giggling herself as she watched the snow fall. "The ones in July are always the best." A snowball then hit her from behind. "Ow!" she cried, rubbing the back of her shoulder.  
One then flew at Shutaro, hitting the back of his head, and the sound of Ataru's laughter rose loudly over the music of the carnival. Shutaro spun around with a scowl on his face. "Moroboshi!" he shouted at the snickering Ataru, who fell onto his knees in his laughter. With a growl, Shutaro quickly scooped up a pile of snow in his bare hands, the snow not seeming cold to him at all, and, aftering patting it into a snowball, narrowed his eyes and threw it at Ataru.  
"Hey!" Ataru exclaimed as the snowball hit his forehead. Narrowing his eyes himself, Ataru then began a snowball war with Shutaro.  
Shinobu sighed, shaking her head as the two hurled snowballs at each other, muttering, "Why must boys always be so immature...? The least they could do is not do it in public..." She then watched as others at the carnival run past her, laughing and throwing snowballs at each other as well, and sighed again. "Well, at least they're having fun..." she commented, eyeing Ataru and Shutaro who had somehow already built six foot tall ice forts from the snow and who's snowball fight was more like the last battle of the Crusades than an actual game.  
"Look! Over there!" Lum called out from the sky, pointing towards the right. "They have unicorn rides!" She then looked down to Shinobu, considering Ataru and Shutaro were to preoccupied with their war to care.  
Shinobu scrunched her eyebrows with a frown. "Don't you think we're a little bit too old for unicorns now, Lum?" she asked. "They don't run nearly as fast as fish do."  
"Fish?" Ataru overheard, as he popped his head out from the side of his fort to look over to Shinobu with hopeful curiosity. "There are fish rides here?"  
"No; but sometimes they have them at the winter carnival," Shinobu replied.  
"Oh," Ataru said glumly. "That's too bad. I always wanted to ride one." He then returned to his war with Shutaro.  
"But, Darling, don't you want to ride one of the unicorns?" Lum then inquired, desperation in her eyes as she clasped her hands together. "They're so pretty and they even have horns, just like I do."  
"Aw, Lum, but unicorns are so boring...besides, can't you see I'm in the middle of something!" Ataru then proceeded to duck behind his fort for one of Shutaro's oncoming snowballs and then heaved one of his own back.  
"Men!" Shinobu exclaimed in a huff as she watched the two boys, crossing her arms and glaring away.  
Meanwhile, Lum frowned. "But, Darling!" She frowned, biting her lower lip, and the looked down at Shutaro. "Shutaro, do you want to ride on one of the unicorns?"  
"I'll be with you in just a moment, Miss Lum..." Shutaro quickly told her, too engulfed in his snowball war to have really heard what she had asked.  
"Hey, look, they're selling crystal balls over there," Shinobu pointed out suddenly, and both boys quickly jumped to their feet excitedly, their war abruptly ceasing.  
"Really? Where?" Ataru anxiously asked.  
"Right there," Shinobu repeated herself as she pointed toward the stand which held the crystal balls.  
"Ooh!" Lum cheered happily as she floated down to the three, forgetting about the unicorns for the moment, and placed her feet on the snow. "I've heard that if you plant a crystal ball in the snow, something grows out of it. Darling, do you remember what grows from it?"  
Ataru shook his head. "I can't remember."  
"Neither can I."  
"Well, there's only one way to find out," Shutaro resolutely declared as he marched over to the stand. "I'd like to buy a crystal ball, please."  
"That will be ten thousand yen," the man at the stand told him. Shutaro nodded, picked up a pile of snow and plopped it on the counter. "No, no, good sir! That's much to generous of you!"  
"I insist you take it all," Shutaro replied with a smile before taking the crystal ball from the man and heading back to Ataru, Lum, and Shinobu.  
"You really shouldn't have spent so much, Shutaro," Shinobu said with a guilty frown, but Shutaro just gave her a grin.  
"It's really nothing when compared to the price of you and Miss Lum's happiness," he repliedbefore dropping the crystal ball in the snow. "Now, let's see..."  
All four crouched down and Shutaro patted snow over the crystal ball until it was hidden. Then they all knelt there, waiting anxiously to see what would come out. After a few moments, the snow shook and a large cherry tree burst from the ground, about three feet tall. However, the four fell back into the snow with disappointed frowns.  
"Is that all?" a disenchanted Lum asked.  
"Cherry trees are so common..." Shutaro added, equally let down.  
"Maybe it wasn't real crystal," Shinobu suggested. "I've heard the fake ones sometimes make cherry trees."  
"Really?" Lum asked and Shinobu nodded. "Too bad we didn't know it was fake."  
"Well, we don't know for certain it really was," Shinobu told her, her frown widening.  
"But what do real crystal balls grow, then?" Ataru pondered and they all lowered their dejected eyes, none of them knowing the answer.

What's Next:

Episode 2: The Magic Show

Subtitle: (Truth, Part Two: The Problem with Knowing)

Featuring:

-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Three (The Original Version)

-Question Number One: Is it all about the Medulla Oblongata?

-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Four (The Sky that Goes as High as the Ferris Wheel)

-A Tribute to the Late Talking Goldfish with Wings

Hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions about anything (like with all the titles and why they were chosen, for example, although chapter one's titles are pretty easy to understand as opposed to some of the later ones...I take much pride in these titles, subtitles, and selection titles I came up with for all eight chapters, as I spent a whole day coming up with them...), feel free to ask and I'll try my best to answer them without giving anything away!


	2. Episode 2: The Magic Show

Thanks for all the nice reviews! I really appreciate it! Hopefully, you'll all like this episode just as much as the last one and I hope that I did a decent job with the characters (because it's really hard to do them, especially in a more serious work...which hopefully doesn't get TOO serious, but I guess whatever works...lol). I think this episode is more serious than the last one for the simple reason of one of the topics that is discussed throughout it, but the next episode after this one is more comedic, so I guess that makes up for it. I mean, the whole story's very thematic, anyway, and the story is, like I said when I posted the first chapter, about four kids growing up, so I guess it has to be serious in some sense. Again, though, this is still PG; there's nothing graphically violent or anything in here (except for maybe a few electric shocks...lol).  
  
Also, you're not supposed to really know what's going on just yet, and so, it might get a bit confusing as I jump from scene to scene, but, just so you know, I guess what you'd call the main, more normal plot line are all the "Tomobiki Summer Carnival" parts, which kind of keep the story a bit more grounded and focused (and less confusing, hopefully). Don't worry, though; in later chapters, all will be (mostly) explained. LOL! Anyway, here goes:  
  
Episode 2: The Magic Show Subtitle: (Truth, Part Two: The Problem with Knowing)  
  
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Three (The Original Version)  
  
"It sure is hot out here all of a sudden," Ataru muttered, as he tugged at his shirt collar, trying to give his neck some air. He was, unfortunately, unsuccessful and he scrunched his eyebrows in the heat with a frown.  
  
"Well, it is the summer, Darling; it's supposed to be hot," Lum reminded him and then grinned widely. "I just love the summer!" she exclaimed as she stared up at the sunny blue sky. "Everything's so warm and bright!"  
  
"I must say, it is my favorite season, as well," Shutaro agreed with a pleasant smile.  
  
Shinobu nodded and added, "July's the best; August gets much too hot." Suddenly, a burst of cold water hit her back and she let out a cry. "Hey!" Her face turned red in both her anger and embarrassment, the back of her shirt now wet.  
  
Some water then squirted the back of Shutaro and the sound of Ataru's laughter rose over the music of the carnival. Scowling, Shutaro spun around to see Ataru snickering beside one of the carnival games, holding a water gun from the game. "Moroboshi!" he shouted, but Ataru just laughed louder and Shutaro growled in his indignation before crossing his arms and turning his eyes from Ataru in disgust.  
  
"Hey, Mendou! You want to play against me?" Ataru called out, a few chuckles still in his throat.  
  
"Why would I want to play with an idiot like you for?" Shutaro snapped back, glaring at Ataru with the corner of his eye.  
  
Ataru shrugged and looked away, turning his gaze to the game and lifting his water gun, ready to aim it at the target. "Suit yourself," he replied casually, not even a smirk upon his face. "You probably would have just lost anyway."  
  
Shutaro's eyes narrowed angrily, his pride getting the best of him as usual, and he marched over to the water shooting range as Shinobu protested, "No, wait! Shutaro…" She trailed off with a frown, knowing that it was no use, and watched as Ataru and Shutaro readied themselves for the game while a few more kids rushed excitedly over to the booth.  
  
Once all eight water guns were taken the carnie in charge of the booth exclaimed, "Ready! Set! Go!" A green light flashed on and the game began, each player trying to keep their water gun aimed at the center of the target as they shot.  
Shinobu sighed, shaking her head as she watched the two teenage boys heatedly play the game, along with six little kids, none older than the age of ten. She mumbled to herself, "Why must boys always be so immature…? Can't they see that that's a kid game…?" Then, noticing the kids giggling as they played, she added, "Well, at least the kids are having fun," as she eyes the scowling faces of Ataru and Shutaro in annoyance.  
  
"Look! Over there!" Lum then called out to Shinobu, considering Ataru and Shutaro were too involved with their game to really care, as she flew up and pointed to the right. "The carousel!"  
  
Not being very interested in the carousel, Shinobu glanced away indifferently and, half paying attention to the conversation, remarked, "Don't you think we're a little bit too old to be going on carousels, Lum? There are a lot of other rides here that are a lot more adult. Like the Ferris Wheel or something…"  
  
"Ferris Wheel?" Ataru asked, overhearing Shinobu and looking over his shoulder for a moment although he continued shooting his water gun at his target. "Are we going on that next?"  
  
Shinobu shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we could…"  
  
Ataru frowned in some disappointment. "But the Ferris Wheel's so boring; can't we go on one of the roller coasters instead?" he asked, but turned away, realizing that Shutaro had just passed him and he needed to catch up, narrowing his eyes in concentration.  
  
"But, Darling, don't you want to go on the carousel with me?" Lum inquired, flying over to him with a desperate hope in her eyes. "It's so pretty! And I thought we could - "  
  
"But the carousel's so slow! Besides, can't you see I'm in the middle of something!" Ataru then turned his entire focus onto the game.  
  
"Darling!" Lum shouted angrily. But, upon realizing that Ataru was no longer paying attention to her, her anger subsided and was replaced with a frown. She then looked down at Shutaro. "Shutaro, do you want to go on the carousel with me?"  
  
"I'll be with you in just a moment, Miss Lum…" Shutaro quickly answered, too involved in his competition with Ataru to actually have heard what she had asked.  
  
"Men!" Shinobu exclaimed in a huff, crossing her arms and glaring away, becoming more embarrassed as they played the carnival game and Lum glowered, agreeing.  
  
It was then that the bell sounded, signaling the game was over. Both Ataru and Shutaro looked puzzled, however, to notice that neither of them had won. Instead, a little boy of about seven or eight who stood beside them had won, and he giggled excitedly and clapped his hands at his accomplishment. Ataru and Shutaro frowned sheepishly at this as the carnie handed the grinning little boy a very large stuffed animal, specifically a goldfish, suddenly feeling very foolish, although both were unsure whether or not it was because they had lost to a little kid or because they had been playing a little kid's game to begin with.  
  
"Hey, look; they're selling charms over there," Shinobu pointed out suddenly, and Lum, Ataru, and Shutaro looked over to her.  
  
"Really? Where?" Ataru asked nonchalantly.  
  
"Right there," Shinobu repeated herself and pointed toward the carnival booth that was selling the charms.  
  
"Ooh!" Lum cheered happily as she now floated down to the three humans, forgetting about the carousel for a moment, and placed her feet onto the ground. "I bet they have good luck charms there!"  
  
"And love charms, too," Shinobu added, slowly starting to smile herself.  
  
"Darling, didn't I buy you a good luck charm once?" Lum then said, looking over to Ataru, but Ataru shook his head  
  
"I can't remember," he answered honestly.  
  
Lum frowned. "Neither can I."  
  
"Ataru sure could use one, though," Shinobu remarked with a snicker and Ataru folded his arms and scoffed.  
  
"I'd love to get one of the magic charms they probably have there," Lum told them. "And get one for Darling, too."  
  
"And I'd like to get maybe a love charm or a beauty charm…" Shinobu said quietly to herself as she lowered her eyes with a dreamy smile.  
  
"And maybe they have a charm there that will bring me lots of woman!" Ataru exclaimed with a perverted grin and Lum's face grew wild with her rage.  
  
"Darling!" she shouted furiously.  
  
It was then that Shutaro started to chuckle and the other three frowned and looked over to him. "What's so funny, Shutaro?" Shinobu inquired curiously.  
  
"You three don't actually believe that those charms really work, now do you?" he questioned and began to laugh harder as Ataru's, Lum's, and Shinobu's face turned a bright shade of pink. "Have any of you learned nothing from our little visit to the supposed 'fortune tell, by trade?' It's an absolute waste of money!"  
  
"But Shutaro…it would be nice to get one…" Shinobu trailed off weakly.  
  
"You three know perfectly well that those charms don't work; it's just a hoax," Shutaro firmly argued and the three frowned even more so, knowing Shutaro was, unfortunately, right. "And since I seem to be the only one paying for anything on this outing, I'm certainly not wasting my money on a phony good luck charm. If anything, I'd rather buy you two girls a necklace or a ring worth ten times as much yen than to get you one of those fake charms."  
  
"Hey, what about me?" Ataru asked with a grin and Shutaro glared at him in disgust.  
  
"I wasn't planning on getting YOU anything, anyway," he coldly answered and Ataru rolled his eyes. "Anyway," Shutaro then continued on, "it's like going to a magic show; none of it's really real. It's all just a bunch of tricks that you wind up wasting your money seeing because you don't know any better. However, I know better and that's why I'm not wasting my money buying silly charms that don't work when I can get you girls something practical. Now come on. Let's see what rides we can go on."  
  
Shutaro then began to lead the way, the other three reluctantly following, Lum and Shinobu's eyes still set longingly on the charms as Ataru shoved his hands in his pockets with a scowl and a scoff, muttering, "Yeah, but a magic show's still fun if you don't ruin it by going out of your way to know what the tricks are."  
  
Question Number One: Is it all about the Medulla Oblongata?  
  
Shutaro stood at the head of the small classroom and in front of the blackboard, long pointer in hand and a detailed picture of a brain drawn in white chalk on the board, divided neatly into three labeled sections. Besides Shutaro's large teacher's desk, there were about fifteen student desks in the classroom, only three of which were occupied, one by Ataru, one by Lum, and one by Shinobu, all three situated in the front row with Ataru in the center, Lum near the window, and Shinobu by the door. The sun had begun setting outside and Ataru was yawning, Lum was looking out the window, Shinobu was frowing, and Shutaro was smugly smiling as he prepared to speak.  
  
"Now then, there are three parts of the brain," Shutaro began his lecture. "The cerebrum," he said, hinting the tip of his pointer against the cerebrum on his brain diagram on the blackboard, "the cerebellum," he told them next, pointing to the cerebellum, "and the medulla oblongata," and lastly pointed to the medulla oblongata. He then placed his pointer in both hands and asked, "Now, tell me, out of all these three, which part of the brain would you want to keep the most and why?" Lum smiled and raised her hand. Shutaro gave her a pleasant grin and said, "Yes, Miss Lum?"  
  
"The cerebrum, so I can keep all my memories of Darling," Lum explained happily.  
  
However, Shutaro frowned. "I'm sorry, Miss Lum, but I'm afraid that is incorrect." Lum glumly slumped down into her seat. "Anyone else?" Ataru now raised his hand. Reluctantly, he called on him, "Yes, Moroboshi?"  
  
"The cerebellum, so I can still chase after pretty girls," Ataru answered and Shutaro shook his head in disgust while Lum snarled at him in jealous fury.  
  
"No, that is NOT the answer," Shutaro snapped loudly and Ataru cringed. Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shutaro then said, "The answer is the medulla oblongata." He pointed his pointer again to the medulla oblongata on the board. "The medulla oblongata is what keeps your heart beating and your lungs breathing; without it, you can't live. You can live without thought," he pointed to the cerebrum now, "and you can live without movement," he pointed to the cerebellum next, "but you can't live without, well, life," and he pointed once more to the medulla oblongata. However, his three students frowned.  
  
"But, Shutaro, with just your medulla oblongata, you're only living as a vegetable," Shinobu tried to reason now, but Shutaro just chuckled.  
  
"Yes, but that's the point, isn't it?" he said rhetorically. "That you ARE living, even if it is just as a vegetable." He then placed his pointer on his desk and picked up a piece of white chalk, starting to write on the blackboard to the left of the brain. "And, thus, without the medulla oblongata, you are not living and not living equals death and that's, well, never a good thing." He then finished writing and stepped away from the board with a proud grin, revealing "Not Living = Death" written in white chalk on the blackboard.  
  
Lum, Ataru, and Shinobu frowned at this. "Well, that's depressing," Ataru noted.  
  
"I'm afraid so," Shutaro concurred. "But nobody ever said knowledge was meant to be uplifting; where do you think the saying 'ignorance is bliss' comes from, anyway?"  
  
"But wouldn't you rather die than live a life without being able to move or without being able to even remember who you are?" Lum asked, but Shutaro shook his head.  
  
"No, no, no," he answered and then started to write on the board again. When he was finished, the board read "Death = Unknown" and, below it, "Life = Known."  
  
"You see," Shutaro now began to speak again with a smile, "We don't know what happens after death and therefore, it's bad. We do know what life is, though, so that means it's good - well, not necessarily good; just better than death, anyway. Why do you think people don't want to die for?"  
  
"You know, Mendou, this is all pretty morbid," Ataru remarked with a bit of a shudder and Shinobu nodded.  
  
"Do we have to keep talking about this?" she added, uncomfortably shifting in her seat.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes, because we know about it now," Shutaro explained.  
  
"Well, I'd still rather die than not know who Darling is," Lum stubbornly argued, crossing her arms. "Besides, if the unknown equals death than not knowing who Darling is equals death, too."  
  
"A figurative death, anyway," Shinobu stated with a frown. "But I guess any kind of death is sort of bad…"  
  
"Well…um…" Shutaro now frowned himself and scrunched his eyebrows. "I guess I never thought about it that way before…" After a moment of pondering this, he shook his head as he began to get nervous. "This is ridiculous! No one wants to die. Living is better than dying; it's been proven."  
  
"No, it hasn't," Ataru said with a confused look.  
  
"Shut up, Moroboshi!" Shutaro snapped.  
  
"I think you're just afraid of death," Ataru replied casually, closing his eyes and lifting his head resolutely.  
  
"I am not!" Shutaro shouted loudly and defensively and the three winced, very unconvinced. Shutaro's face turned red then and he laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to calm down, and said, "I'm not REALLY afraid…" as he glanced toward the ceiling and Ataru began to snicker. He growled and gave them all a fierce glare, "Well, none of you can say that you're not afraid, either!"  
  
All three frowned at this, their faces flushing, knowing it to be true. Shinobu, however, tried to smile, and replied as optimistically as she could, "Yeah, but everybody's afraid of dying, so it's not so bad."  
  
Shutaro regained his vigor then as he grinned and exclaimed, "That's an excellent point, Miss Shinobu! And why is it that? Because, simply, not knowing is frightening."  
  
"But knowing is just as bad," Lum protested. "Like we all know we're going to have to die someday. Wouldn't it be better if we didn't know at all?"  
  
"Well, I suppose if we didn't know that we were all eventually going to die we wouldn't be having this really upsetting conversation to begin with…" Shinobu remarked as she lowered her solemn eyes to her desk.  
  
"Yeah, and then we'd be living instead of worrying about our stupid medulla oblongata all the time, Mendou," Ataru grumbled with a scoff as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. "Why'd you have to go reminding us all about it anyway? It's something we've almost forgotten about."  
  
"You really do forget about it if you don't think about it so much," Shinobu agreed, lifting her head with a smile and a nod.  
  
"But when did we have to start forgetting about it in the first place?" Lum then asked. "There must have been a time when we didn't know at all so there was no reason to have to forget."  
  
They all looked to Shutaro for the answer and Shutaro frowned in dismay. "Well…I suppose it just sort of happens as you get older," he answered matter-of-factly. "You just start to know things that you never really wanted to know to begin with."  
  
"But what's better, then? Knowing or not knowing?" Shinobu inquired and Shutaro hesitated.  
  
"Knowing is a lot better," Lum resolutely decided.  
  
"Well, I'd rather not know some things," Shinobu answered.  
  
"I suppose they both have their advantages…" Shutaro trailed off.  
  
And Ataru just snorted and muttered, "I think they both suck."  
  
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Four (The Sky that Goes as High as the Ferris Wheel)  
  
The four sat on the Ferris wheel, Lum and Ataru on one side and Shinobu and Shutaro on the other. They sat quietly as the Ferris wheel slowly moved upward toward the sky, Lum, Shinobu, and Ataru still slightly disappointed in the fact that they hadn't been able to buy any charms from the carnival booth. However, when the Ferris Wheel was about halfway up, a grin began to form on Shinobu's face as she looked out at the carnival below. "Wow! Everything's so small from up here!" she exclaimed.  
  
"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Miss Shinobu," Shutaro said with a pleasant smile and Shinobu smiled herself, although she could feel her cheeks turning pink. Shutaro then looked over at Lum, who was gazing out the window with a disappointed look in her eyes. "What's wrong, Miss Lum?"  
  
"Hmm?" She then turned her eyes to him and tried her best to laugh, scratching the back of her head in some embarrassment. "Oh, it's nothing, really!" Her smile diminished, however, and she added, "It's just that I feel like this Ferris wheel doesn't go very high…"  
  
"Well, that's because you can fly," Shinobu said. "You can go as high as you want; it's not our fault that this is as high as we humans can go."  
  
Lum's face turned sour at this. "I didn't mean it like that, you know," she mumbled bitterly as she folded her arms and crossly slumped into her seat.  
  
Yawning loudly, Ataru complained, "This is so boring…" He then folded his arms behind his head, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes, "Wake me when we're going on something cool like the roller coaster or something…"  
  
Shutaro gave him a glare. "Don't you have an appreciation for anything, Moroboshi?" he questioned and Ataru just gave him a nonchalant shrug, causing Shutaro to sigh in his frustration.  
  
"The view really is something," Shinobu added as her gaze lifted toward the sky, their seats now reaching the top. "Look at the sky!"  
  
Lum now lifted her own eyes to look, but frowned upon the sight. "It's really not much; especially when you know how high it really goes."  
  
With a glower, Shinobu glared away and replied haughtily, "Well, I'm sure it's better than the carousel."  
  
Scowling, Lum returned to slumping in her seat. However, after a moment, her eyes looked over to Ataru's closed ones and she smiled. She closed her own eyes and leaned close to him. But Ataru immediately opened his eyes and pulled away from her, exclaiming, "Come on, Lum! I already said that we're not on a date!"  
  
Lum growled, already having been thoroughly annoyed by Shinobu before, and narrowed her eyes furiously at him. "Darling!" she shouted loudly, before sending out a great surge of electricity throughout their Ferris wheel seat, causing all three to scream loudly and lighting up the top of the Ferris wheel as if it were a star.  
  
A Tribute to the Late Talking Goldfish with Wings  
  
Ataru and Shutaro stood near the front of the long line of mourners at the wake in the temple of gold and white marble. Shutaro stood in front of Ataru, arms folded as he impatiently waited in line while Ataru slumped behind him, yawning and looking rather bored. "I don't see why we're waiting here," Ataru muttered. "We don't even know who the guy is."  
  
Shutaro sighed in exasperation. "BECAUSE, Moroboshi, we're already on line; it would be rude for us to just get up and leave without paying our respects."  
  
"Yeah, but for all we know this guy the wake's for could be some horrible person," Ataru argued.  
  
"Who cares?" Shutaro replied. "That's not really the point, anyway."  
  
"Then what IS the point, Mendou," Ataru asked, growing frustrated himself.  
  
"The point is that it doesn't matter WHO the wake is for; you give your respects because that's what you do at wakes - it's just what you're supposed to do," Shutaro explained.  
  
"Well, that's a stupid reason to pray for a dead guy that you don't even know," Ataru mumbled and Shutaro let out a low growl.  
  
"I didn't ask your opinion," Shutaro snapped in a cold whisper before sharply turning his eyes from Ataru. "Besides," he then continued, "I really don't want to be here myself, I have you know. It's just important that people THINK I want to be here. And it will look bad if we don't kneel and pray. It's called having manners, something YOU obviously lack." And he glared at Moroboshi in disgust.  
  
"Why do you care what these people think, anyway? You don't even know who these people are," Ataru argued still. He then looked over his shoulder at the long line and said in surprise, "Wow, there sure are a lot of people here…"  
  
"Yes, well…" Shutaro trailed off, looking forward. He then muttered to Ataru, "Let's just say some quick generic prayer so we can get out of here as fast as possible." And Ataru, for once, didn't find any reason to disagree.  
  
After a few more minutes, Ataru and Shutaro had reached the front of the line and hastily and uneasily knelt together in front of the large closed golden casket of the deceased man who's name they didn't even know. Ataru frowned, looking down at the casket awkwardly, unsure what he was supposed to do and unsure about whether or not he cared about the fact that he wasn't sure what to do. Shutaro, meanwhile, closed his eyes tightly and clasped his hands together in prayer and raising them high above his head. He took a deep breath and then hurriedly said as he exhaled, "May your soul find peace." He then opened his eyes and stood up, tugging on Ataru's arm. "Come on, Moroboshi."  
  
"Wait, that was it?" Ataru said, blinking in surprise and confusion as he felt himself being pulled up by Shutaro. Realizing what the answer was, he said, "Well, that WAS quick…"  
  
The two stepped out of the temple or church or whatever it was - neither boy had actually bothered to try and figure it out - and onto the large white marble stairway that led down to the street, the bright sunlight shining down on them. Each took a deep breath of the fresh air in and exhaled at the same time, smiling as they basked in the day.  
  
"It sure is nice here," Ataru noted as he looked around at all the shiny white and gold buildings that matched the temple they had just exited.  
  
Shutaro nodded, the sunlight sparkling on the white shining buildings just as they did in his handsome eyes. "It really is, actually." The two took a few quiet moments more as their eyes scanned the clean city street, lined with bright green trees, the brilliant sky above them, and even the marble stairs that they stood upon, white and luminous.  
  
"So…now what?" Ataru asked, breaking the silence, and Shutaro shrugged.  
  
"I don't know…what do you want to do?" he asked.  
  
"I think I'm kind of hungry; maybe we can get something to eat."  
  
"All right," Shutaro agreed. He took a step forward, but then frowned. "Hey, Moroboshi, do you know if there are any places to eat around here?" Ataru frowned and shook his head. Shutaro sighed. "Well, I guess we can just look around…"  
  
Ataru just shrugged and the two boys casually strolled down the marble stairs and onto the sidewalk. As they began to walk down the street, the sound of drums came to their ears. Ataru was the first to hear it and he stopped walking, his ears perking up to listen. "Hey, Mendou."  
  
"Hmm?" Shutaro now stopped and turned around to face Ataru. "What is it, Moroboshi?"  
  
"Do you hear that?" Ataru asked. "It sounds like music…"  
  
"I don't hear anything," Shutaro replied before even listening and went to turn back around. However, he stopped himself, noticing something with the corner of his eye, and faced Ataru once more, although he was looking past him and down the street. "Hey, maybe it's that," he said and pointed and Ataru looked over his shoulder to see a colorful parade just a few blocks away, marching down the street perpendicular to the one they were standing on now.  
  
"It's a parade," Ataru said, somewhat bewildered.  
  
"Obviously," Shutaro remarked with a patronizing smirk and Ataru gave him a slight sneer because of it.  
  
"So, let's see what it's all about," Ataru told Shutaro as he started walking in the opposite direction, heading towards the parade now.  
  
"I thought we were going to get something to eat, Moroboshi," Shutaro began to complain, a feeling of hunger rising in his stomach.  
  
"It's only take a few moments," Ataru argued. "Now, come on!" Ataru then started running toward the parade.  
  
"But, wait!" Shutaro called out and then, realizing it was no use, sighed in a frustrated defeat. Shaking his head and clenching his fists with a glower on his face, he reluctantly followed Ataru, muttering, "Of all the immature, self-indulged, incompetent idiots…" until he trailed off into profanities that he grumbled under his breath.  
  
"Wow!" Ataru exclaimed, mouth gaping open in awe as his eyes set upon the magnificent floats of the parade, taking his spot amongst the massive crowds of cheering onlookers, all dressed in the brightest of colors, who had come to watch the festive parade. Like a child he watched, his dull eyes suddenly brightening, as if the rainbow of colors that ran throughout the floats, the flying confetti, and the fireworks that illuminated the already brilliant sky were reflecting in them. And the marching band came to his ears, and he turned his head to see them marching, dressed in bright pinks and purples and blues, with bright white feathers on their hats and sparkling instruments, so clean and new, as if they were gold, and playing a joyous melody and Ataru couldn't help but start cheering along with the others as well.  
  
Shutaro, still very irritated, finally made his way to the parade, and with a scowl, somehow managed to push himself to the front of the crowd to where a cheering, albeit oblivious, Ataru stood. "Moroboshi!" Shutaro scolded as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, however Ataru could not hear him over the loud music and the exuberant cheers of the crowd. "Moroboshi!" Shutaro shouted once more, but Ataru still ignored him. Sighing irritably, Shutaro gave Ataru a hard shove to the shoulder, yelling, "Moroboshi, you idiot! What on earth are you doing?!"  
  
Ataru now turned around with a sour expression on his face as he rubbed his shoulder. "I'm watching the parade!" he shouted back and Shutaro rolled his eyes.  
  
"I KNOW that," he said loudly, trying to speak over the crowd. "But why are you - "  
  
"Party hats and noisemakers!" a voice then shouted over the crowd, a grinning middle-aged man walking down the sidewalk with a large selection of colorful hats and noisemakers sticking out of a bright golden cart that he rolled in front of him.  
  
"I'll take some!" Ataru excitedly exclaimed.  
  
"You idiot, Moroboshi; you don't have any money for that," Shutaro told him. "And I'm surely not paying for that, especially not for you."  
  
"Don't worry, young man!" the man with the hats and noisemakers said with a generous smile, having reached them now. "All these are for free! After all, this is a celebration!" He let out a boisterous laugh before pulling out a red plastic top hat and putting it onto Ataru's head. He then handed him three noisemakers and Ataru grinned wildly.  
  
"Thanks, sir!" he exclaimed before spinning around the two noisemakers in each of his hands and blowing loudly into the third one.  
  
Shutaro just groaned and shook his head as he placed a hand to his forehead. "Great," he grumbled, "Now he has an excuse to be an even bigger loud and obnoxious moron." Then, to his surprise, he felt a plastic top hat be placed on his shoulder and he looked up to see the middle-aged man with the hats grinning. Shutaro immediately took it off, saying, "Oh, um, thank you, sir, but I don't want - "  
  
"I insist you take it!" the man insisted. He then leaned in, placed a hand on Shutaro's shoulder, and whispered, "You know, you really ought to lighten up, kid; this is a parade, after all." He gave him a wink and widened his smile, and then was on his merry way, generously handing out hats and noisemakers to the rest of the large crowd.  
  
"Kid?!" Shutaro defensively shouted, but the hat-man was too far gone to hear him. Realizing this, and noticing the people happily cheering around him, hats and all, Shutaro frowned awkwardly and then lowered his eyes to his own shiny blue top hat, suddenly feeling very out-of-place amongst the crowd.  
  
However, after a moment, Ataru had grabbed onto Shutaro's arm and pulled him forward, spitting out his third noisemaker and exclaiming, "Look at that!"  
  
Shutaro looked up at the parade then to see a group of a hundred dancing girls, dressing in glittering sequin dresses, all different vivid colors, dancing freely down the parade, none doing the exact same dance, but all doing a beautiful dance nonetheless. Shutaro now grinned himself as he watched the pretty girls, as Ataru began to smile and drool at them. Then his eyes widened as he looked up at the sky filled with fireworks, although no smoke remained in the air from them, and his grin widened as well. "This really is an amazing parade. Too bad Miss Lum and Miss Shinobu aren't here to see it…" He then frowned in a bit of puzzlement and scrunched his eyebrows. "Hmm…I wonder what this parade is for, anyway…" He looked to Ataru and his face grew panicked as he noticed Ataru was heading toward the dancing girls with arms outstretched and a devious smirk on his drooling face. "Moroboshi!" he scolded and quickly took hold of the back of his collar, yanking him back just in time, Ataru falling flat on his behind as Shutaro said, "Control yourself, you idiot!"  
  
Ataru groaned as he rubbed his rump and looked up. He then gasped in shock, raising his finger and pointing behind Shutaro. "Jesus Christ!"  
  
"What is it NOW, Moroboshi?" Shutaro questioned.  
  
"Behind you!"  
  
Shutaro then turned around and looked up. He gasped himself and stumbled backwards as Ataru got to his feet and stood beside him. "That's…a…" he stammered.  
  
"Castle?" Ataru finished for him and Shutaro nodded. A few blocks away, where the parade seemed to be heading, stood a enormous white and gold castle, basking in the sunlight that made the white turn to gold and the gold brighten until it was white. Fireworks went off all around it and it's large elegant towers that reached toward the sky, and beautiful white marble statues lined its roof and ledges. It's windows were wide and made of the cleanest of glass, sparkling as if it were diamonds, and no gate or wall encircled the palace; it was as if it was open to all.  
  
"That's a really big castle," Ataru said, still in an awed daze as he stared up at it, having to lift his head all the way back until his neck hurt in order to see it all, and still, his eyes couldn't reach the very top.  
  
"I'd say," Shutaro agreed.  
  
"It's like out of a fairytale or something…" Ataru trailed off.  
  
Shutaro nodded and repeated, "I'd say."  
  
"I wonder who it belongs to," Ataru then said and Shutaro shrugged.  
  
"I guess to whoever this parade is for, right?" Shutaro suggested and then looked over to one of the members of the cheering crowd. "Excuse me, miss?" Shutaro then asked, addressing a woman in about her forties or fifties. "Do you know who this parade is for and who's castle that is exactly?"  
  
The woman gave him a smile. "Why, this parade is for our king, the Talking Goldfish with Wings! That's his castle over there," she explained and pointed over to the castle that Ataru and Shutaro had been gawking at only moments beforehand.  
  
Ataru and Shutaro exchanged looks of worried puzzlement then, and Ataru turned to the woman and inquired, "Talking Goldfish…with Wings?"  
  
The woman nodded and her eyes brightened as if she were still a young girl. "Yes; the greatest king to ever rule this land or any land! He saved us from a tyrant - a cruel hearted man - twenty-five years ago. I remember how horrible times were then; but now, well, he rebuilt everything in this city, using his own gold to line each building, and brought us education and so many wonderful books to read, and made it a custom to hold the greatest celebrations for even the smallest of good deeds any citizen does, oh, and so many more good, good things. In his first few years of ruling, when times were still hard after the tyrant, he made sure that his people all had the best of food before he ate a single crumb, and he tore down the gates around the castle as to welcome us all in - anyone is allowed in now. I met him only a few times - he made sure to meet every one of his people at least once, and, always, to remember each one of their names - and he was the kindest, gentlest, humblest, and most honest of all creatures I have ever met!"  
  
"Wow," Ataru replied, "he seems like a great guy," and the corrected himself, "or, well, talking goldfish…with wings."  
  
"And especially for a king," Shutaro noted.  
  
The woman nodded once more, a twinkle still in her eye, and she looked down at them. "Yes, but you two should know all about him. Everyone knows about him here."  
  
Shutaro frowned. "Actually, this is our first day here; we've never met the Talking Goldfish with Wings before."  
  
The woman's eyes fluttered in surprise. "You mean, you two are visitors here?" Both boys nodded. "Well, you two must go to the castle then!" she exclaimed. "It's a custom, really! And especially today of all days - that's what the Talking Goldfish with Wings would want - he would want you two sitting in the royal banquet hall! Welcoming visitors is very important to us here; the Talking Goldfish with Wings taught us that. Now come along!"  
  
Shutaro and Ataru looked at each other, still very confused, but then Ataru shrugged and Shutaro placed his plastic hat atop his head, and the two boys followed the woman.  
  
When they reached the castle, they were vigorously greeted with kind, welcoming grins, all of the people dressed in beautiful bright fabrics and with eyes just as bright. They all talked and asked questions with great enthusiasm - more than Ataru and Shutaro had ever seen before in their lives - all very interested in what Ataru and Shutaro had to say as well as equally excited to praise their kind king, the Talking Goldfish with Wings.  
  
They were then eagerly taken up to the royal banquet hall that stretched out over the balcony which hung over the end of the street, the parade still marching on outside as if it were a never-ending celebration. Ataru and Shutaro were graciously given a seat at the head of the largest table, food already laid out for them, while people danced and talked around, a large band playing in the castle, yet somehow not clashing with the music playing outside.  
  
Ataru and Shutaro grinned as they watched all the people enjoying themselves and took to eating. "Wow, this food's really good, Mendou" Ataru said as he chewed and Shutaro swallowed and nodded.  
  
"It's even better than what I usually eat, and I always have the best," Shutaro added.  
  
"This Talking Goldfish guy seems like he's really cool," Ataru then said, taking another bite. "Everyone loves him here, anyway, and from what we've heard, he seems exceptionally nice."  
  
"Although I am a bit confused to how he became king, being a goldfish and all," Shutaro replied.  
  
"It was probably the wings," Ataru told him matter-of-factly. "Everybody knows that."  
  
Shutaro just shrugged and then continued to ponder, "This whole celebration is probably in honor of his twenty-five year reign; the lady mentioned that it was twenty five years ago since the Talking Goldfish with Wings saved them from that tyrant." Ataru nodded in agreement.  
  
"Why, hello," a kind woman's voice came to their ears then and both boys looked up to see a beautiful woman standing over them with long, flowing lavender hair and a gentle smile, both boys grinning at the sight of her beauty. "You two must be the visitors I've been hearing about. I'm the Queen of this land, and wife of the Talking Goldfish with Wings, great king and darling husband." She extended her elegant ivory hand to them.  
  
"YOU'RE married to the Talking Goldfish with Wings?!" Shutaro questioned in shock as he stared up at the beautiful woman, baffled as to how and why a gorgeous lady would be with a goldfish.  
  
However, before she could answer, Ataru seized the queen's hand as he stood up and pulled the queen close to him. "My stunning lady; forget about your husband! Let us run away together and make beautiful love!"  
  
"Moroboshi!" Shutaro reprimanded. "Don't you have any tact at all?"  
  
"It's all right," the queen said kindly, still smiling as she let out a soft chuckle and her glossy eyes glinted as if they were two teardrops. She then took a seat besides Ataru, Ataru returning to his seat, although his arms were still wrapped tightly around the queen's waist and drooling and snickering as he did so, a perverted smile on his face. "Are you two enjoying yourselves?" she asked them.  
  
Shutaro nodded. "This is quite an impressive celebration."  
  
"I'm glad you like it."  
  
Shutaro hesitated a bit and then asked, "If you don't mind my asking, your majesty, but why would a young woman as beautiful as yourself marry a talking goldfish with wings for?"  
  
Her smile widened a bit as her eyes glossed more and she answered simply, "Because - I love him and will always love him. What greater reason do I need than that?"  
  
"Well…" Shutaro now frowned, suddenly feeling embarrassed, and annoyed because he felt embarrassed, and averted his eyes to his food. "It just seemed odd, that's all." Then, lifting his fork, he continued, "But, from what I hear, he is a very good king. I don't think I've ever heard of or met anyone so kind and generous before."  
  
Lowering her eyes, the queen said quietly with a bittersweet smile, "Neither have I."  
  
The revels continued on for quite some time more, with music and dancing, eating and laughing. It was when a grinning Shutaro finished taking a big gulp from his gold goblet after everyone had boisterously raised their glasses and cheered after the fifteenth toast of the day, although by the way they joyously toasted it still seemed like the first, that he finally asked to no one specifically, "By the way, where is the king, anyway? The Talking Goldfish with Wings? I'd really like to meet him." Ataru nodded eagerly, although his head still snuggled against the queen's chest, his arms still wrapped around her, his eyes closed tightly, and his mouth drawn into a daydreamer's smile.  
  
It was then that everyone grew quiet, the music and dancing suddenly ceasing as did the laughing and eating; even the music and the cheering from the parade outside seemed to diminish, as if everyone in the city somehow sensed the melancholy that had unexpectedly seized the room and the people in it. Except for Shutaro and Ataru, who both were very confused now as they looked around the room for some sort of answer - or, at the very least, the question that would bring them an answer.  
  
"I'm afraid…that…you can't meet him," the queen finally spoke, her words coming out slowly.  
  
"Why not?" Ataru asked casually, raising his head a bit to look up at her.  
  
"I don't see why we can't," Shutaro then stubbornly disagreed. "After all, this party is for him, isn't it? Shouldn't he be at his own party?" His eyes began to scan the royal banquet hall then, as if thinking he had missed him in the large crowd, although he failed to consider the fact that a talking goldfish with wings would be pretty noticeable, no matter how large the crowd was. He frowned in some disappointment, the rest being just annoyance, and demanded, "Why isn't he at his own party? Tell me."  
  
"Yeah, especially if everyone loves him so much, you'd think they'd want him here," Ataru added. A long silence followed, the party members all staring down at their feet with some sort of guilt in their eyes, a guilt that neither Ataru or Shutaro had seen before or could explain.  
  
Finally, the queen took a deep breath and bravely raised her chin to speak. "I…my husband - my wonderful husband - the Talking Goldfish with Wings, loving king and father to all of his people…" she trailed off for a moment, but only for a moment, as if it was imperative for her to find the right words, "…passed on from this world yesterday evening, to find an even better place than this wonderful city he created for us." She then added with a sweet, ironic chuckle, "Although I cannot think of a place greater than the one he made for us all."  
  
Both boys' faces suddenly turned pale at this, as if the spirit they had just had only minutes beforehand had never been there at all, and their eyes turned dull and somber, the unexplainable guilt in the party members' eyes replacing their childlike enjoyment and causing a twinge of pain in both of their stomachs and throats. Even their once bright plastic top hats, Ataru's red and Shutaro's blue, that they wore atop their heads seemed to lose their luster, Ataru's now looking more like rust and Shutaro's like slate. Ataru slowly and quietly uncoiled his arms from the beautiful woman - the kind queen who had allowed him to grope onto her for the past couple of hours without complaint - and withdrew them into himself, pulling away completely from the queen and lowering his eyes from her sad ones in guilt and shame.  
  
But the queen continued on, trying her best to smile, "But my husband told me - he told all his people - to only mourn for a moment. He said that today he wanted a big celebration, not only to celebrate his long, happy life, but to celebrate our own continuing lives as well as his new life, whatever it might be. He made us all promise we'd do this - that we'd be happy even after he was gone; he said his life was meaningless, otherwise, if his people weren't to remain happy even after his passing. And so we celebrate today, like he asked, and go only for a moment to mourn him in the golden temple which is where his body now lays, only a few blocks away from the parade - the temple that he built for us all, just as he built everything for us all - and, after that moment, say a happy prayer of thanks, and then enjoy ourselves and celebrate at the parade. There should only be a couple hundred people left waiting in the temple; and soon, once they are finished, they will all join us as well, you see, and we will all celebrate together, in honor of him and in honor of ourselves, just like he had asked of us. This was his last wish - his last words - before he closed his eyes and slept for the last time, never to wake up again."  
  
It was then that both boys realized that the shine in her eyes were her tears, glistening like diamonds in her beautiful solemn eyes that she somehow kept happy just for the sake of the late Talking Goldfish with Wings and her love of him. Shutaro just nodded, swallowing hard, and Ataru kept staring downward, looking at his food with a frown. The queen, with bittersweet eyes, raised her wine glass then and said, "But enough with that; we must continue on with the celebration." She gave a nod to the conductor of the band and the conductor returned this with a sympathetic smile before he started the band up again, and soon everyone was joyously dancing and laughing again; even the parade outside seemed to somehow burst with life again as its energetic music and cheering returned to the royal banquet hall, brightening it just as the fireworks that had begun to go off again outside brightened the sky.  
  
Yet neither Shutaro or Ataru joined in the festivities any longer. Instead, with melancholy eyes they stared down at their plates of half-eaten food, a quiet somber amongst them as they frowned, neither speaking a word to each other, yet the same thoughts running through their heads as they tried to understand how everyone could be celebrating knowing that their king was dead; they certainly couldn't find it in them to be happy now that they had learned the truth. They were detached now from the happy people of the Talking Goldfish with Wing's kingdom, the only two sad ones amongst all in the city, and while the thousands in the city were attached to each other somehow in their joyous celebration, the two boys were now attached to each other in their guilt and grief - and in their newfound regret.  
  
For all the while they wished they had never asked where the Talking Goldfish with Wings was, or had ever known who the man was in the casket that they had knelt before with only a careless, thoughtless, five-word prayer between the both of them.  
  
What's Next:  
  
Episode 3: I See, You See, We See Subtitle: (Truth, Part 3: The Problem with Untruths)  
  
Featuring:  
  
-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Five (The House of Illusions)  
  
-Mr. Bean, the Chicken Man, and His Amazing Circus of Eden  
  
-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Six (The house of Material Things)  
  
-Now Presenting the Pseudo-Prize of Mute-Singing Turtles To... 


	3. Episode 3: I See, You See, We See

Hi, all! Again, thanks to everyone for the nice reviews! Anyway, as I said in the last chapter, this one's more comedic than the last chapter. Also, the last part features a cameo by another UY character, but I'll tell you now that she's kind of out of character. However, she's kind of supposed to be out of character because she isn't really...well, I don't want to actually give anything away yet... But, then again, everything's kind of off when the chapters switch out of "The Tomobiki Carnival" parts, so I guess you might have all expected it, anyway...  
  
Also, I thought I'd just tell you that I've actually completed this whole story, all eight chapters. Yay! Usually I'm not so dedicated to a fanfiction, but I really liked this one and for some reason it was important to me to write. Just hope it all came out good! LOL! However, I'm going to spread out posting them for somewhere between a few days and a week. It depends, really, on how long it takes to get a couple of reviews, lol. Besides, I don't want to bog everyone down with so much to read, anyway. But, just so you all know, the story is complete so you will get to read all of it eventually. Also, you don't really find out what's going on until chapter seven,just to warn you, and chapters five and six are kind of confusing...  
  
Anyway, that's all! Here's chapter three!  
  
Ataru yawned as he stood with Shutaro, the two boys standing in front of some children's ride, a small red train filled with excited, giggling children, that circled pleasantly around a small pretend castle. "Jeez, it's been twenty minutes already," Ataru complained, leaning against the fence that closed off the ride from the carnival walkway. "What's taking the girls' so long to go to the bathroom, anyway?"  
  
Shutaro merely shrugged, too focused on trying to get the soot off of his otherwise clean white pants from the electric shock Lum had given them all on the Ferris Wheel. "Why a beautiful woman like Miss Lum would be in love with an idiot like you is beyond me," he muttered to himself angrily as he sneered at the soot that wasn't coming off.  
  
"Hey, I never asked for her," Ataru said.  
  
Shutaro ignored him, however, letting out a frustrated sigh of defeat as he stopped trying to brush off the soot, and, in a huff, crossed his arms with an irritable growl and gave up on trying to clean his pants. "What time is it?" he demanded.  
  
"Um…a little bit past two o'clock. Why?" Ataru asked as he glanced down at his watch.  
  
"Because I want to know how much longer we have to stay at this stupid carnival," Shutaro answered through clenched teeth.  
  
"I don't know; Lum says she wants to stay until the fireworks tonight," Ataru told him.  
  
"Well, that's just great," Shutaro sarcastically remarked as he returned to his futile attempts to clean his pants' leg.  
  
"That's not going to get cleaned like that," Ataru said.  
  
"Shut up, Moroboshi," Shutaro snapped. "Maybe if you knew how to be a GENTLEMAN, you wouldn't have upset Miss Lum and then maybe I wouldn't have this soot still on my pants. But I suppose that would mean you would have to have something called manners, which you obviously lack." Ataru rolled his eyes and then glanced away, his gaze setting half-interestedly on a bunch of kids playing, each wearing shiny toy top hats on their heads, some red and some blue. "And if you are going to upset her," Shutaro continued on, "the least you could do is do it when I'm not around so I don't have to be shocked on account of YOUR stupidity."  
  
"Yeah; I guess you have enough stupidity on your own," Ataru retorted and Shutaro gave him a glare.  
  
"I just can't wait to get out of here," Shutaro then replied, looking away from Ataru although still grimacing in disgust at his situation. "Everything here either is a con or far too childish. Not to mention my pants are ruined…"  
  
"Shutaro!" Shinobu's voice called out and Shutaro immediately lifted his head with a charming grin to see Lum and Shutaro walking towards them with happy smiles and warm waves, only a couple of yards away.  
  
"Miss Shinobu, Miss Lum," Shutaro greeted them pleasantly, all anger leaving his face and his voice.  
  
"Darling!" Lum cheered, flying over to him and taking hold of his arm.  
  
"What took you so long?" Ataru asked with a bit of annoyance in his voice and Lum's face turned sour and she stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Are you enjoying yourself, Miss Shinobu?" Shutaro asked with his debonair smile, and Shinobu became slightly flustered, her face turning a light shade of pink.  
  
She smiled and nodded. "Are you?"  
  
Shutaro grinned, his white teeth glistening in the sun as did his handsome eyes. "Of course, Miss Shinobu; I couldn't be having a better time."  
  
Episode 3: I See, You See, We See  
  
Subtitle: (Truth, Part Three: The Problem with Untruths)  
  
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Five (The House of Illusions)

"The House of Mirrors is really interesting, isn't it, Darling?" Lum asked with a giggle as she flew through the House of Mirrors, still clinging onto Ataru's arm as she did so.  
  
Ataru nodded, watching the kids running through in a fit of giggles as they looked at all their silly distorted images in all the strangely curved mirrors. He then let out a few devious snickers then as he pulled his arm from Lum and went up to one of the mirrors. "Hey, check this one out," he called to her and then, sticking out his tongue and making pretend antlers with his hands, leaned his head toward the mirror, the reflection of his face becoming very large. Lum placed her feet on the floor and stared at the image in some bewilderment before beginning to giggle. Ataru laughed as well when he saw his silly face become as big as a person. Then, he stood up straight and turned to Lum with a mischievous smirk. "Hey, Lum, why don't you put your chest up to the mirror?" He began to snicker, but Lum's face turned red in both anger and some embarrassment.  
  
She placed one arm over her chest with a scowl and then gave Ataru a hard slap across the back of his head with the other, causing him to fall flat on his face with a groan. Lum's scowl soon left her, however, as she noticed another peculiar mirror with corner of her eye. With a curious smile, she floated over to it and landed in front of it, studying her reflection inquisitively in it. "Look, Darling," she said, pointing to her reflection, "I'm upside down."  
  
"I can see that," Ataru said as he sat up, sitting Indian-style on the floor and looking over to Lum and her reflection.  
  
"Hmm…" she hummed as she cocked her head to the side and placed a hand to her chin, pondering the reflection like it were some sort of riddle she had to solve. She then raised her feet from the ground and turned herself upside down, her blue hair now hanging down, only an inch away from touching the floor and her head where her upper legs should be and her knees where her face should be, her feet stretching even higher into the air. She frowned in perplexity as she saw herself staring at the reflection of her feet and then looking upward to see the reflection of her puzzled eyes fall down to meet hers from the top of the mirror.  
  
"That sure looks weird," Ataru said, standing up and scratching the back of his head as he gazed at Lum's new reflection, now right side up although she floating upside-down, especially seeing how odd it looked to see Lum's hair standing up perfectly straight in her reflection.  
  
Meanwhile, Shinobu and Shutaro were quite a bit behind, Shutaro having found a relatively normal mirror and finding it necessary to admire himself in it. Shinobu, meanwhile, frowned at this, growing impatient, and asked, "Um…Shutaro…don't you think we ought to find Ataru and Lum? It's kind of getting boring just standing here when there are so many other mirrors to look at…"  
  
"I'll only be a few more minutes…" Shutaro trailed off, adjusting the collar of his shirt and then starting to fix his hair as to assure every strand was perfectly in place.  
  
Shinobu sighed a bitter sigh before she decided to wander off a little head on her own. She walked, gazing at all the mirrors around her, whether they be to the right or left or even on the ceiling, slowly spinning about as she did so in order to get a good look at them all, although she didn't stop in front of any. However, one mirror caught the corner of her eye and she gasped, coming to a sudden halt. She frowned as she looked at it in her horror and disappointment; her reflection made her look exceedingly heavy, her whole mid-section large, round, and bulging to the edges of the mirror. Her face grew panicked as she looked at it and she bit her bottom lip in her worry. Hesitantly, she took her hands and brought them to each side of the mirror, where the reflection of her belly unfortunately ended, trying to get an estimated measurement. She then took a few steps back, making sure not move her hands from their positions, and then raised them up to her eyes, although never moving them inward or outward. "Eek!" she cried at the sight of the width between her two hands, measuring at least four feet, and then slammed her hands over her mouth, hoping not to attract any attention to herself. Glancing about as to make sure no one noticed her, she dropped her hands to the side and turned her eyes back to the ridiculously obese reflection of her in disappointment.  
  
Then, she wondered out loud, "Do I really look that fat…?"  
  
Mr. Bean, the Chicken Man, and his Amazing Circus of Eden  
  
"Hello, and welcome all! I am Mr. Bean, the Chicken Man, and this is my Amazing Circus of Eden!"  
  
Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, and Shutaro applauded as they sat Indian-style in the otherwise vacant dessert that afternoon, the sun's heat blazing down onto the white sand. Meanwhile, Mr. Bean, dressed in a bright red sparkling sequin suit with a matching top hat, glittering black cane, and a thin mustache and beard that both curved upward, stood in front of them with a cunning grin.  
  
"Now…the acrobats!" Mr. Bean exclaimed and gestured behind him as he stepped off to the side for them to watch. However, there was nothing there to be seen. Yet the four grinned excitedly, cheering and clapping as they watched the sand and the sun's rays beating across the sky.  
  
"How amazing!" Shinobu whispered to Shutaro and Shutaro nodded.  
  
"Yes, Miss Shinobu," he whispered back, "This really is a spectacular show."  
  
"Wow, Darling! Look at that one flip!" Lum exclaimed, linking her arm around Ataru with a grin and bright eyes as she watched, although there was, seemingly, nothing to see.  
  
Ataru smirked as he began to drool. "Yeah, she sure is something!"  
  
Lum narrowed her eyes, a low growl escaping her lips as a few electric sparks started to jolt from her. However, before she could say anything, there was a loud burst of applause from Shutaro and Shinobu, signaling the end of the performance. Lum quickly calmed down and looked forward to see Mr. Bean stepping forward, clapping as well.  
  
"Wonderful! Spectacular! Stupendous!" Mr. Bean declared. "Let's have another round of applause for our Eden acrobats!" The four generously applauded, eagerly awaiting the next performance. Once they finished applauding, Mr. Bean's smirk widened and he asked, "Now how is our audience enjoying themselves?" They cheered and then Mr. Bean took a couple steps forward and bent forward a bit to address Shinobu, Shinobu's face turning scarlet as Mr. Bean smiled down at her. "How about you, Miss? How do you like the show thus far?"  
  
"Oh, I think it's lovely," Shinobu answered with a nervous laugh. She then frowned, fanning herself with her hand, and added, "Although, it is a bit hot out here…"  
  
Mr. Bean's smile quickly was replaced with a serious glower as he stood up straight and crossed his arms behind his back. "Hot? What do you mean hot?"  
  
Shinobu's face grew worried then and she stammered, "Well…I…"  
  
"How can it be HOT?!" he questioned furiously, swinging his cane towards her and she let out a shrill cry and closed her eyes shut. However, when she opened them, she saw that the cane was still an inch away from her nose, the tip pointing directly at her. "Answer me!"  
  
"Well…" Shinobu hesitated, her eyes looking desperately at the others for an answer, although the three just sat there in a stunned sort of terror. She then fearfully looked back up at Mr. Bean and said weakly, "Because…it is?"  
  
Mr. Bean snorted and dropped his cane from her, slamming the butt into the sand. "No, it is NOT hot!" he shouted. "This is EDEN, if you do recall - it's PERFECT. Therefore, it cannot be HOT here!"  
  
"So then it's cold?" Ataru asked in confusion and Mr. Bean snarled, marching over to him and smacking him atop the head with his cane. "Ow!" Ataru exclaimed, rubbing his head in pain as he felt a bump form.  
  
"NO! It is not COLD here either, you fool!" Mr. Bean exclaimed. "What part of PERFECT, don't you understand? Eden is a PARADISE. Thus, the weather here is not too hot and not too cold. It's PERFECT."  
  
"But - " Shinobu went to protest, the blazing dessert sun still beating down on them all.  
  
"PERFECT!" Mr. Bean interrupted, saliva flinging from the corners of his mouth. He then glared at her and questioned, "And what do you think of the weather here, Miss?"  
  
Shinobu frowned awkwardly, but asked more so than answered, "Perfect?"  
  
Mr. Bean's anger left suddenly and he grinned wildly. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed.  
  
"You know, it does make sense if you think about it, Miss Shinobu," Shutaro whispered into her ear. "This is Eden so you couldn't be hot."  
  
"I guess not," Shinobu replied, slowly convincing herself that this was true although she could still feel a few beads of sweat trickling down the back of her neck.  
  
"How about you, fine young sir," Mr. Bean now said, addressing Ataru. "How are you enjoying yourself this evening?"  
  
"Evening? But it's the middle of the day," Ataru pointed out and Mr. Bean grimaced.  
  
"It is evening because I TELL you that it is evening!" Mr. Bean shouted, causing Ataru to cringe. "Now answer the question!"  
  
"But it's sunny out," Ataru persisted.  
  
"No, it's not," Mr. Bean argued.  
  
"Yes, it is."  
  
"No, it's not."  
  
"Yes, it - "  
  
"Moroboshi!" Shutaro interrupted. "Don't be an idiot; of course it's not sunny out."  
  
"That's right, Darling," Lum agreed. "Because Mr. Bean said so and I don't think he would lie to us, would you, Mr. Bean?"  
  
"Of course not, Miss," Mr. Bean answered with a warm smile. "After all, you can't lie in Eden." He gestured out toward the barren wasteland of the dessert.  
  
"See, Darling?" Lum said giving him a grin as she hugged his arm tighter.  
  
"Hmm…I guess that's true," Ataru agreed. "And he hasn't lied about anything else. I mean, it isn't hot and this is Eden and he's obviously a chicken man, so I guess that must mean it's evening, too."  
  
Mr. Bean smirked victoriously and then said, "Enough talk now! Let us continue on with our show! How about we see the elephants!" And the four cheered excitedly.  
  
So Mr. Bean, the chicken man - who wasn't really a chicken man, anyway - stepped to the side the bright sun that supposedly wasn't there blazing down on them and across the dessert, that surely wasn't Eden, and the four watched Mr. Bean's Amazing Circus continue on with cheers and applause, although there was nothing to see but the burning sand and the hot air.  
  
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Six (The House of Material Things)  
  
Lum's eyes sparkled with wonder as she looked around at all the different trinkets that we're being sold that day at the Carnival. She moved from booth to booth, the sunlight shimmering down on her and on all the shiny objects that caught her interest and then overwhelmed it in all their glistening splendor. Her mouth widened into a grin and her eyes refused to blink as they gazed at all the mechanical toys moving about, each with their own tiny melodies emerging from them, while wind chimes for sale hung from the signs of the different booths for all to see, and making their own pretty song for Lum to enjoy as they danced in the wind.  
  
Ataru, meanwhile, was only a few feet away from Lum, curiously looking at a bunch of ceramic circus figurines. He picked up the small sparkling red circus master, and then snickered to himself as he started playing with it, picking up one of the elephant figurines as well and moving them about the counter, humming a made-up tune that he was moving them to. However, his hand soon knocked into a few of the lions and acrobats, and he winced as they clattered and fell over. Panicking, he quickly dropped the figurines he was holding, both clanking as they hit the counter, and started trying to pick up the other figurines, only to knock over a few more.  
  
Finally, a hand seized Ataru's wrist, pulling his hand away from the toys, and Ataru fearfully looked up to see Shutaro glowering down at him. "Can't you read?" Shutaro questioned heatedly and then sharply pointed to a sign on the booth that read, "Please Do Not Touch the Merchandise."  
  
Shutaro then ordered, "Now don't touch anything!" and Ataru cringed. Abruptly releasing Ataru's wrist with a shove, Shutaro pushed past Ataru, Ataru frowning and rubbing his wrist into some pain. He gave Shutaro a sneer, although Shutaro had already begun to walk away, his back turned to Ataru so he could not see the annoyed scowl on Ataru's face. Then, Ataru reluctantly started to follow, shoving his hands in his pockets and dragging his feet across the dirt path, grimace still on his face and the figurines still messily lying on the counter.  
  
As Ataru bitterly skimmed through the merchandise at some of the other booths in one of the many small shopping corner at the Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Lum's curious eyes fell upon a blue and gold trimmed box on sale, the sun's rays hitting particularly, as if beckoning Lum to it. Fascinated by it's simple, elegant beauty, Lum raised her right hand toward it and then gently stroked her slender fingers across the top of it. She then flipped up the latch of the box and, placing a hand to each side of it's lid, lifted it slowly and carefully up, until the top was standing erect and what was inside the box was revealed.  
  
The corners of Lum's mouth curved upwards into a small, child-like smile as her hair peacefully swayed with the wind, as a quiet little melody came fluttering up to her ears and the sight of five pairs of miniature ballroom dancers, four on each corner and one in the center, twirling about inside the box; it was a music box - a beautiful music box, inspiring an infinite amount of daydreams in Lum's eyes as she lifted a finger to the two figures dancing in the center and touched them.  
  
"How pretty," Shinobu's voice came from behind and Lum broke out of her daze, turning her head to the right to see Shinobu standing beside her and peering down at the music box. After gaining her senses a bit, she nodded in response to Shinobu and shifted her eyes back down to the music box. Shinobu then asked hesitantly, "Do you think…if I asked…Shutaro would buy it for me?" Lum looked up with a worried expression on her face, her heart already set on the music box herself, and Shinobu, realizing this, quickly added, "That is, if you don't want it! But you can have it if you'd like."  
  
Lum grew flustered, her cheeks turning scarlet, and she hastily shook her head. "No, no; that's all right. I really didn't want it anyway; I was just looking at it."  
  
"Are you sure?" Shinobu inquired. Lum put on a fake smile and gave her a nod. "Well, all right, then." Shinobu then grinned happily, gazing down at the music box that would soon be hers, before lifting her head and calling out, "Shutaro!"  
  
Lum frowned, her legs lifted off the ground as she indiscreetly floated backwards away from Shinobu as Shutaro arrived by her side, a heartbroken look in her once glittering eyes. She grew even more heartbroken as she watched, from a distance, Shinobu's face light up happily when Shutaro purchased the music box for her.  
  
"What's wrong, Lum? You seem down," Ataru's voice suddenly came to her and she turned her head to him to see that he had a concerned expression on his face.  
  
Lum quickly put on a smile for him and exclaimed, "Oh, it's nothing, Darling!"  
  
Ataru didn't look very convinced, but he just frowned and said, "Well, if you say so, Lum…" He trailed off as he started away, and Lum lifted a hand out to him as if to call back to him, but a fear in her gut stopped her and her arm soon dropped to her side.  
  
She then dropped her feet to the ground, lowered her eyes, and clasped her hands behind her back as she stared at her feet. Then, she put on a crestfallen smile and, in a bittersweet whisper, said to herself, "Well, it's not like Darling was going to buy it for me, anyway…"  
  
Now Presenting the Psuedo-Prize of Mute-Singing Turtles To…  
  
Ataru slammed his hand on the buzzer.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Moroboshi!" Ryuunosuke exclaimed, wearing a sparkling black suit with a matching top hat and standing behind a game show host podium a large flashing sign that read the "Contest of Contradictions."  
  
"A hundred!" Ataru answered with a grin.  
  
"That is correct!" Ryuunosuke declared as a bell rang. "Fifty points for Mr. Moroboshi!" And the audience applauded.  
  
"I object!" Shutaro now spoke up, he being one of the four contestants participating in that day's show, Lum, Shinobu, and Ataru being the other three.  
  
Ryuunosuke slumped against the podium, leaning her elbow against it and resting her chin in her hand with an annoyed, frustrated look on her face. "This is the ELEVENTH time you've objected, Mr. Mendou."  
  
"But twenty divided by five is four, not a hundred," Shutaro explained. "That's if you multiply the two; you've got it all backwards."  
  
Ryuunosuke let out a frustrated sigh. "For the LAST time, Mr. Mendou - this is the Contest of CONTRADICTIONS." She sighed again and pulled out her next question before Shutaro could object any further. "Now then, for fifty points, what is directly east of Japan?" Shutaro now hit his buzzer. "Yes?"  
  
"The Pacific Ocean, of course," Shutaro answered with a smug grin and Ryuunosuke shook her head as a loud buzz sounded to signify he had answered incorrectly.  
  
"I'm afraid that you are wrong AGAIN, Mr. Mendou," she said as a disappointed "Aw…" came from the audience. "Which drops you down to an astonishing negative six hundred points, setting a new record for the lowest score EVER on our little game show!"  
  
"But - " Shutaro went to protest, but Ataru interrupted him with a fit of snickers. Shutaro viciously glared at him, snapping, "Shut up, Moroboshi!" which simply cause Ataru to laugh louder.  
  
Lum's buzzer then sounded and she raised her hand, eager to be called upon.  
  
"Yes, Miss Lum!" Ryuunosuke exclaimed, glad to have dodged another objection from Shutaro.  
  
"The answer is China!" Lum excitedly declared and a bell rang victoriously.  
  
"That is correct!" A cheer came from the audience and Lum grinned. "That's another fifty points for you, Miss Lum! You are now in second with three hundred points with Miss Miyake only a question behind at two hundred and fifty. Mr. Moroboshi remains in the lead with four hundred points, but it's still anyone's game at this point!"  
  
"But…the Pacific Ocean is east of Japan," Shutaro argued, and then leaned over to whisper to Shinobu, "The Pacific Ocean IS east of Japan, isn't it?"  
  
Shinobu nodded, "Yeah, but this is the Contest of Contradictions; you're supposed to purposely answer the opposite. You know, answer incorrectly. Like west is the opposite of the east and since China is west of Japan, the answer was China." Shutaro still seemed both troubled and puzzled by this, but ceased in questioning Shinobu about it.  
  
"Okay, next question!" Ryuunosuke exclaimed. "What is - " A sudden buzzer sounded, interrupting Ryuunosuke, and Ryuunosuke abruptly said, "And that sound means time is up!" Disappointed groans came from the audience, but Ryuunosuke just grinned. "But now it's time to announce our winner and give him - or her - their prize!" The audience then cheered excitedly. "Are you ready?" The audience cheered even louder. "Okay, then! Now presenting the psuedo-prize of mute-singing turtles to…"  
  
Ataru grinned wildly, eagerly awaiting to accept his prize. "Mute-singing turtles?" Lum meanwhile whispered in puzzlement as a drum roll commenced, and Shinobu shrugged while Shutaro just scowled at the ridiculous notion of mute-singing turtles.  
  
"Shutaro Mendou!" Ryuunosuke exclaimed, a thunder of applause bursting from the audience, and Shutaro's face turned from anger to surprise.  
  
Ataru's mouth, meanwhile, dropped in horror. "Hey, wait a second!" Ataru immediately exclaimed in protest. "I thought you said I was in the lead! And Mendou has the lowest score out of all of us!"  
  
"Exactly!" Ryuunosuke declared. "That's why this is the Contest of Contradictions; the winner is really the loser!"  
  
"But that's not fair!" Ataru argued, but was ignored, the applause from the crowd and the blaring and cheesy game show music drowning him out.  
  
"So…where's my prize then?" Shutaro asked, still a bit bewildered, as he looked around the stage for it.  
  
"There isn't any prize," Ryuunosuke answered.  
  
Shutaro now frowned. "But you just said - "  
  
Interrupting him with a loud, exasperated sigh, Ryuunosuke shouted, "Stop the music!" The music suddenly ceased and the cheering audience suddenly disappeared.  
  
"What happened to the audience?!" Ataru cried frantically, pointing to the now empty nothingness that stood in front of them with a trembling finger.  
  
"There wasn't ever any audience," Ryuunosuke replied through clenched teeth. "It was all just an illusion." The four exchanged puzzled looks.  
  
"But…why?" Shinobu asked.  
  
"And what about my prize?" Shutaro added.  
  
Ryuunosuke shook her head. "Okay, let me try to explain this; this is - or, well, was - the Contest of Contradictions. Therefore, whenever I sent something, I really meant the opposite. So, when I said there was a prize, that means there wasn't any. And when I said that this was a game show, it couldn't really be a game show otherwise it wouldn't be a contradiction, and therefore there couldn't be any real audience. Do you get it?"  
  
"Not really…" Ataru answered honestly for himself and the other baffled three and Ryuunosuke rolled her eyes, a frustrated growl rising in her throat.  
  
"Are you all stupid or something?" she asked. "It was all a bunch of LIES! Jeez, when are you four going to grow up and realize that just because someone tells you something or you see something doesn't necessarily mean it's true?" The four now frowned in a bit of self-disappointment, although they still didn't know exactly what Ryuunosuke was talking about just yet.  
  
Ryuunosuke calmed down a little then and then said, "Okay, take me, for example."  
  
"You?" Shinobu asked.  
  
"Yeah, me," Ryuunosuke confirmed. "I look like a boy, right?" The four nodded. "And I sound like a boy, right?" The four nodded again. "And I act like a boy, right?" The four nodded once more. "But does that mean I'm a boy?" Ataru, Lum, Shinobu, and Shutaro all hesitated at this, shifting their eyes to one another's, desperately looking for the right answer. Ryuunosuke sighed and, growing impatient, answered for them, "NO, it does NOT mean I'm a boy. I may look, sound, and act like a boy, but, TECHNICALLY I am a girl, no matter how you look at it, and you can't change what you really are, even if you can make it look like you can. Right? Right."  
  
"So…it's sort of like that saying about not being fooled by appearances…kind of?" Lum asked meekly, but Ryuunosuke grinned.  
  
"That's exactly right!" she exclaimed. "And the same thing goes with what people tell you; you can't believe all of it, you know. A lot of it may be lies, even the stuff you find yourself saying."  
  
The four frowned, still not entirely sure what Ryuunosuke was talking about, but she simply turned from them, a serious look in her eyes as she stared into the darkness that had now replaced the audience. "You just have to figure out the truth - the real truth - for yourselves," she told them. "And remember what I said; otherwise, I don't think any of you will ever get out of here."  
  
What's Next:  
  
Episode 4: Another Cliche, Please  
  
Subtitle: (Relationships, Part One: The Problem With Romantacism)  
  
Featuring:  
  
The Tomoboki Carnival, Part Seven (Couple One: Shinobu and Shutaro)  
  
The Tomobiki Carnival, Part Eight (Couple Two: Ataru and Lum)  
  
The Music Box Dilemma  
  
Question Number Two: Do I Know You, My Darling? (The Transistion) 


	4. Episode 4: Another Cliche, Please

Hi, everyone! Thanks again for all the nice reviews! Anyways, here's chapter four and the end of the first half of the story (there are eight chapters, after all). Hmm...don't know what to say about this chapter without giving stuff away. It's more serious than the last chapter, anyway, although there are a couple of funny parts in it...and some of it is really sweet...but, well...you'll see, I guess. I will tell you all that after this chapter, things start to get a bit more serious and slightly more confusing (don't worry, though! There will be happy endings and all will be explained...well...mostly! lol!), but you don't really have to worry about that now... Basically, the end of this chapter is kind of like where the story shifts gears...sort of...I really can't explain it right, so I guess I'll just let you all read and see!  
  
Oh, as an important note (which I actually should have mentioned earlier), for all of you who don't know, 100 yen equals about one American dollar (actually, it's more like 110 yen, but it's easier to do the math with a 100, so...). That means that the 11,000 yen Mendou paid Wazuka in the first chapter was about $110 (and that Wazuka's original rate was $55 per person). I just wanted to tell you this now because there's a bit about money in this chapter and you might not get the joke in it if you didn't know the money conversion thing (and you might have wanted to know what Wazuka charged them in the first chapter). So, again, 100 yen equals about one American dollar.  
  
I think that's it. I hope you enjoy this chapter; I enjoyed writing it, anyway! LOL!  
  
Episode 4: Another Cliché, Please  
  
Subtitle: (Relationship, Part One: The Problem with Romanticism)  
  
The Tomobiki Carnival, Part Seven (Couple One: Shinobu and Shutaro)  
  
Shinobu and Shutaro sat at a small table in the outside food court of the carnival, the evening sun still brightly shining down on them as they waited for Lum and Ataru to return with dinner for all four of them. Shinobu had taken out her newly-bought music box and watched it with a dreamy smile as the couples danced to the sweet melody while Shutaro looked off to where Lum and Ataru stood on line, bored and hungry.  
  
"It really is lovely," Shinobu commented. "Don't you think, Shutaro?" When she received no answer, she looked up at him and frowned to see the uninterested gaze in his eyes as he stared out over the crowds. She gave him a small nudge and repeated, "Shutaro?"  
  
"Oh, yes, lovely," Shutaro answered quickly and hastily turned his eyes to her, putting on a charming smile. Gaining his senses a bit more, he added, "I'm glad you like it, Miss Shinobu."  
  
Shinobu forced herself to smile for him and said, "Thanks for buying it for me."  
  
"Don't mention it; your happiness is thanks enough," he answered with his handsome grin still on his face, before turning his eyes from her and looking back over the crowd, muttering, "Now what is taking that idiot Moroboshi so long…"  
  
Frowning as she looked up at Shutaro, who's interest in her had quickly faded - if there had been any at all - Shinobu lowered her eyes back down to the music box with a sudden longing. There was an awkward silence that followed then for Shinobu as she waited for Shutaro to say something, yet his mind seemed to be on elsewhere, particularly on eating, and Shinobu found herself frowning even more so. But she tried to perk up and sat up straight, ready to make conversation. "This is our last summer all together before we graduate; can you believe it, Shutaro?"  
  
"Huh?" Shutaro turned back to her once he heard his name and, after a moment of recalling what she had just said, replied, "That's right…I nearly forgot about that…"  
  
"I'm scared to take those college entrance exams in January; I heard they're really hard and - " Shinobu stopped herself, however, sensing Shutaro wasn't paying attention to her. Noticing the bored frown on his face, Shinobu frowned herself and slumped down into her seat, averting her eyes to her hands that rested in her lap. After a few more moments of silence, Shinobu quietly inquired, "Shutaro?"  
  
"Yes, Miss Shinobu?"  
  
"Are you sure you're enjoying yourself?" Shinobu asked. "I know you said you were, but…well…you seem kind of bored, that's all."  
  
"Well…I…" Shutaro stammered, looking down at her with a frown. He managed to put on another smile, however, and said, "Of course, I am, Miss Shinobu."  
  
"You are?" Shinobu persisted as she raised her eyes to his. "Because if you're not, we could always leave, if you'd like, Shutaro; I don't mind."  
  
"Don't be silly, Miss Shinobu," Shutaro answered with a light-hearted laugh, his grin widening and his eyes brightening. "I want to stay." Shinobu smiled happily at this assurance. Then, after a pause, he added, "And Miss Lum wants to see the fireworks, and I certainly couldn't disappoint her." He lifted his eyes from her then and turned back around, while Shinobu's face dropped, brokenhearted.  
  
"Lum?" she asked with a desperation in her eyes.  
  
Shutaro just gave her a casual nod, but looked back at her with some worry. "Why? Is something wrong, Miss Shinobu?"  
  
Shinobu's cheeks flushed, but she quickly closed her eyes and shook her head. "Oh, no, it's nothing!" she exclaimed and turned forward in her seat as to not have to look him in the eyes. Shutaro frowned at this, somewhat puzzled, but before he could ask anymore, Shinobu hastily changed the subject. "So what university are you thinking of going to? Somewhere in Tokyo maybe…?"  
  
"Oh…um…" Shutaro faltered at first, being thrown off guard by the sudden change in topic.  
  
"Or probably Tokyo University, right?" she answered for him, now gazing up at him with an excited grin. "I mean, you're really rich and really smart so you're sure to get in; that must be it."  
  
Shutaro now smiled and replied, "Actually, I was thinking of studying at a university in America…"  
  
Shinobu felt her heart drop and she suddenly found it difficult to breath. "Oh…really?" Shutaro gave her a nod. "But…isn't that…far…away…?"  
  
Shutaro shrugged. "I suppose so; why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, I - " Shinobu forced herself to laugh now as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It's just so funny to think about you all the way off in America with all of us here…" Her laughter soon faded into a frown and she bit her lower lip. "Um…won't you miss everyone, Shutaro, being so far away?"  
  
"Not really," Shutaro answered nonchalantly.  
  
"Not ANYONE?" Shinobu persisted as she leaned toward him, gazing up at him with hopeful eyes.  
  
"I don't think so…" Shutaro replied honestly, trailing off to ponder the question further.  
  
Shinobu, meanwhile, sighed in frustration, and slumped back down into her seat with a bitter scowl on her face. She glared at the music box a moment longer, as if suddenly repulsed by it, and coldly remarked, "Well, I suppose you'll meet a lot of American girls there, anyway."  
  
She then slammed the music box shut.  
  
The Tomobiki Carnival, Part Eight (Couple Two: Ataru and Lum)  
  
"It doesn't look like this booth has anything but ramen noodles and sake," Lum noted as she looked up at the menu that was posted.  
  
Ataru frowned. "Well, we can't go and wait on another line; we've already waited long enough."  
  
"I suppose Shinobu and Shutaro are waiting for us…" Lum trailed off. She then put on an excited grin and said, "Besides, there are so many more rides we have to go on yet! Like the carousel and - "  
  
"I already told you I don't want to go on the carousel," Ataru rebutted. "It's a kiddy ride and it's a girly ride and it's just plain boring."  
  
Frowning slightly, Lum still persisted on, "But, Darling, it would only be for a few minutes. And I really - "  
  
"Then go on by yourself if you want to go on so bad," Ataru interrupted her.  
  
Lum gave a scowl and went to shout, but then a familiar voice spoke up, "What'll your order be?" Lum and Ataru then looked forward to see Ryuunosuke standing behind the counter.  
  
"Oh, hi, Ryuunosuke!" Lum said, her anger subsiding into a smile. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Dad decided to open up shop here for the summer since the school shop isn't open," Ryuunosuke answered and gestured toward her father who was cooking noodles in the back.  
  
"Oh, well, that's nice," Lum replied and Ryuunosuke just shrugged.  
  
"So can I take your order or what?" she then asked impatiently as she leaned her elbow on the counter and her chin in her hand.  
  
"Oh…um…we'll have three cups of ramen noodles and three sakes," Ataru decided, glancing over at the menu one last time.  
  
"Darling!" Lum exclaimed and gave him a stern look.  
  
Ataru rolled his eyes, but sighed and reluctantly changed his order, "FINE…make it four of each…"  
  
Ryuunosuke nodded and then called out, "Four noodles and four sakes!" She then turned back to Ataru and said, "That'll be 1,800 yen."  
  
Ataru frowned as he reached for his wallet, pulling out the yen and grumbling, "I don't see why I have to pay for everyone…especially Mendou…"  
  
"Well, Darling, he did pay for our admission into the carnival and for us all to see Madame Wazuka Nozomi Suzambo III and for all our other food today. I thought that the least you could do was buy him and the rest of us a cheap dinner."  
  
"Cheap?!" Ataru questioned. "You call 1,800 yen cheap?!" He slammed the yen on the counter then and Ryuunosuke began counting it.  
  
"Well, for all four of us together…" Lum trailed off with a frown.  
  
"Idiot! Hurry up with that order!" Ryuunosuke shouted to her father, breaking up their dispute for the time being, and both Ataru and Lum cringed at the wrath in Ryuunosuke's face. She then turned back to them, saying, "Your order SHOULD be ready shortly. Here's your change."  
  
Ataru gave her a devious smile, however, and took hold of her hand, saying, "How about you keep the change and I take you out tonight after the carnival?" He snickered mischievously.  
  
But Ryuunosuke just growled fiercely and narrowed her eyes. "Idiot!" she shouted, giving him a punch across the face, causing him to fly backwards, which was followed up by Lum smacking him across the back of the head, scolding, "Darling!" as he went soaring forward again, his forehead slamming into the edge of the countertop.  
  
"Ow…" he groaned.  
  
"Here's your order," Ryuunosuke then said, placing a tray of food on the counter for Lum to take. "Have a nice day."  
  
"Thanks!" Lum replied, her smile returning to her as she picked up the tray with one hand. She then pulled Ataru up by the arm with her other hand, saying, "Come on, Darling."  
  
Finally getting to his feet, Ataru brushed the dirt off his pants and took into step next to Lum as they started there way through the crowd to where the tables were. He shoved his hands in his pockets and began casually, "Hey, Lum."  
  
"Yes, Darling?"  
  
"Why do you want to go on the carousel so bad anyway?" he asked.  
  
Lum shrugged. "I don't know; I just thought it was pretty." She then grinned and added, "And the unicorns have horns, kind of like I do."  
  
"Well, that's a stupid reason; they're not even real unicorns," Ataru nonchalantly answered and Lum frowned, a sadness stinging in her eyes. But her frown was soon replaced by an angry scowl, although her eyes remained hurt.  
  
"Darling, why do you always have to be so mean?" she questioned, her hurt eyes digging into his, before she sharply spun from him, her hair whipping behind her, and started to fly ahead of him.  
  
"Wait! Lum!" Ataru called after her as he raised a hand toward her, but then just grimaced himself and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Why does she always have to take everything so personally, anyway?" he muttered to himself in his anger, although he wasn't sure if it was directed at her or himself.  
  
Meanwhile, Lum had reached the table, slamming the tray down, a couple of the cups of noodles falling over, and crossing her arms heatedly as she took a seat opposite Shutaro and Shinobu. Both Shutaro and Shinobu frowned at the glower on Lum's face.  
  
"Lum, are you all right?" Shinobu asked.  
  
"I'm fine," Lum insisted, although there was an anger lurking in the back of her voice.  
  
"If that idiot Moroboshi upset you -"  
  
"I didn't do anything," Ataru interrupted Shutaro as he reached the table. "She's just making a big deal over that stupid carousel again that NO ONE wants to go on." Shinobu and Shutaro frowned a bit at this and Lum just averted her stubborn eyes from him. He took a seat beside Lum then, although Lum purposely angled her body away from him and moved her seat a bit over as well.  
  
"Oh," Shinobu replied and tried her best to smile as she reached over to take one of the cups of noodles and a sake for herself. And, eyeing Lum, who's anger and disappointment were both very visible, Shinobu continued, "Well…I'm sure we can find some other rides that you'll like, Lum, that we can go on besides the carousel…"  
  
It was then that Shinobu's elbow accidentally hit into her music box as she pulled her food back towards her. The music box fell slowly from the table, as if still trying to grip onto it as it did, and went plunging toward the ground, and as it hit the stone pavement, there was a loud, piercing clank of chords clashing with one another, the last chords the music box would ever play, and of ceramic breaking, the top breaking off it's hinges and the bottom cracking in half, while the heads of the dancing couple in the center broke jaggedly off.  
  
There was a silence among the four then as Shutaro, Ataru, and Lum rose to see the fallen music box that now laid at Shinobu's feet, the heated anger vanishing from Lum so quickly as to be replaced by her sorrow. They just stared down at it's shattered pieces with mouths gaped open in their disbelief and eyes wide with remorse for the once beautiful music box.  
  
But none was more heartbroken than Lum.

The Music Box Dilemma  
  
The four sat outside sipping tea and chuckling merrily with the warm sun gently falling on them, Lum and Shinobu dressed as southern belles, with parasols and lavish hats and gorgeous gowns to match, while Ataru and Shutaro were dressed as southern gentleman, with long suit jackets and top hats and white gloves. The two girls sat delicately, with their legs crossed at the ankles and lifting their teacups to their prettily painted lips with ivory hands, whereas the two boys sat with their legs crossed at the knees and using only one hand to lift their tea, the other resting gracefully across their lap. They looked like they belonged in another time and place - particularly the late 1800s on some affluent plantation in the southern half of America.  
  
"You must tell them that story you told me," Shutaro was saying to Shinobu as he placed his glass down on the one patio table. "The one you told me yesterday morning." He turned to Lum and Ataru then and said, "It's such an interesting story; I love hearing her tell it."  
  
Shinobu laughed, placing down her teacup as well. "But, Shutaro, dear, I've already told you that story five times already since I first told it! You couldn't possibly want to hear it again." She further explained then, for Lum and Ataru, "He's been asking me to tell it to him over and over, you see. I don't know why, really; it's not all that wonderful."  
  
"Oh, Miss Shinobu, you're being too modest!" Shutaro insisted. "I think it's a fantastic story! And I'd love to hear you tell it again!"  
  
"But it must be boring to you now."  
  
"I could hear it a thousand times and not be bored with it! Nothing you say could ever bore me," Shutaro continued with a grin and Shinobu smiled humbly, her rosy cheeks turning a bit pinker. "Now tell it again. Please?"  
  
Shinobu giggled bashfully. "Oh, Shutaro…"  
  
"More tea, Lum, love?" Ataru then offered with a smile, raising the pot of tea.  
  
"Oh, I can pour it myself, Darling; you needn't worry about that," Lum told him, but Ataru shook his head.  
  
"Only a cad would allow his lady to pour her tea herself," he said and then added as he poured the tea into her white teacup, "A gentleman, however, always serves his lady on hand and foot, especially a lady as exquisite as yourself."  
  
Lum gave him a smile, blushing, and said, "Thank you, Darling," as she took a sip of her freshly poured tea.  
  
"Besides, Shutaro, we haven't told them the good news yet," Shinobu sweetly replied now and Ataru gave them an inquisitive look.  
  
"Good news?" he asked and Lum, too, turned her eyes to them curiously.  
  
Shinobu giggled and Shutaro grinned proudly and excitedly now as he put his arm around Shinobu's shoulders. "Shall I tell them, or shall you?" he asked.  
  
"You can, dear."  
  
His grinned widened as he looked to the Ataru and Lum. "Miss Shinobu and I are getting married." "You are?" Lum asked eagerly and Shinobu nodded, tears of happiness coming from her eyes. Lum let out an excited squeal, clapping her hands together and exclaiming, "Oh, that's simply wonderful! When did he ask you?"  
  
"Last night," Shinobu answered, all smiles. "It was the most romantic thing! We were by the fountain over in the courtyard. Oh, and the ring!" She extended her hand out for Ataru and Lum to see the massive diamond ring sparkling on her finger.  
  
"How beautiful!" Lum declared, clasping her hands together as she gazed down at it, in awe of it's brilliant radiance.  
  
"What a ring!" Ataru agreed.  
  
"We plan to get married in the early fall," Shinobu told them, hardly able to obtain her excitement.  
  
"I can't wait," Shutaro said, grinning himself as he took Shinobu's free hand, Ataru and Lum still studying the diamond on the other. "It's going to be wonderful."  
  
"And children!" Shinobu exclaimed. "I can't wait to have children afterwards. We'll at least have two or three!"  
  
"Make it four or five!" Shutaro added with a happy laugh.  
  
"Congratulations to you both," Ataru then said, lifting his cup. "I think a toast is in order, wouldn't you say, Lum?"  
  
Lum nodded and raised her cup as well. "To Shutaro and Shinobu and their happy engagement, and even happier marriage."  
  
"Here, here," Ataru concurred.  
  
"And to my beautiful fiancée," Shutaro said, lifting his cup with one hand and raising her chin with the other so their eyes could meet. "Soon to be my beautiful wife and the beautiful mother of my children."  
  
"Here, here," Ataru repeated and the four drank their tea.  
  
Placing his cup down, Shutaro put on a smirk and remarked, "Now the only question is when is Moroboshi going to pop the question, hmm?"  
  
"Oh, yes!" Shinobu agreed. "It's been some time now."  
  
Both Lum and Ataru smiled timidly, their faces blushing, and Ataru answered, "Soon, soon," as he poured himself another cup of tea. "I want it to be a surprise, after all. And now after that ring that you gave Shinobu, Mendou, it's going to be hard to find one that can compare." He lifted his cup and took another drink as the other three laughed.  
  
Lum then latched her arm around Ataru's and looked up at him with a smile and loving eyes. "Oh, Darling, you know I don't need that big of a ring! I don't even need a ring at all; all I really need is you."  
  
Ataru just smiled back down, brushing a strand of her hair gently behind her ear with his finger. "I know that, dear; but I want to get you one. And a big one at that." His smile turned into a playful smirk then as he added, "Besides, what fun would it be if I didn't make you wait a little?" Lum gave him a giggle and he kissed her on the forehead before she leaned her head against his shoulder.  
  
"Actually, we better get going soon. It's already past five," Shutaro then told them as he looked down at his watch and stood up.  
  
"Already?" Shinobu asked in some worry, looking about at him. "We're going to be late to the ball." "Don't worry, Miss Shinobu," Shutaro told her as he took her arm and gently helped her up. "It's always good to arrive fashionably late to these type of events."  
  
And so the four arrived at the ball fashionably late, as Shutaro had suggested, and were greeted warmly by the other guests, especially Shutaro and Shinobu who were showered with congratulations and good wishes as the newly engaged couple at the ball. Meanwhile, while the happy couple chatted away about their new engagement to the dozen or so guests that had surrounded them, Lum stood watching the dance floor in a romantic daze, the orchestra playing a symphony as the men and woman gracefully danced across the marble floor, their dresses flowing about their feet and the light from the massive chandeliers above them glowing like gold and diamonds. Lum smiled, her hair in curls, and she hummed to the melody of the orchestra, standing by the buffet table and taking a sip from her wine glass which she held elegantly in her gloved hand, covered in a white satin gloves. After a moment, however, she blinked, snapping out of her daze, and looking about her in puzzlement.  
  
"Where's Darling?" she asked aloud to herself and slowly walked down the aisle that laid between the dance floor and the buffet table, looking for him. She soon spotted him, a couple yards away, surrounded by three beautiful woman, and her body froze as her heart went numb.  
  
"Would you care for a dance with me, Mr. Moroboshi, sir?" one asked.  
  
"Or me, Mr. Moroboshi, sir?"  
  
"Or me?"  
  
Lum's mouth dropped open fearfully, but she couldn't find it in her to speak. However, Ataru just smiled at the three woman, and replied, "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I have saved all my dances to Lady Lum for this evening." He then turned and extended his hand out toward Lum, his eyes warm and his smile loving.  
  
Lum breathed a sigh of relief. She then returned his smile and placed her wine glass onto the buffet table before picking up the bottom of her gown and walking over to him. When he reached her, he put his arm around her arm and the two elegantly stepped onto the ballroom floor. Reaching the center, right below the greatest of the golden chandeliers, they released one another, Ataru taking off his hat and bowing to her while she gave him a curtsy. Then, both smiling pleasantly, they took hold of one another and began to dance together.  
  
"Darling, you're a wonderful dancer," Lum commented as he they twirled about the dance floor.  
  
"Only because I'm dancing with you, Lum, dear," Ataru replied with a charming smile, "the most graceful, the most elegant, the most beautiful of all woman at this party tonight. You're stunning."  
  
"Oh, Darling…" she trailed off modestly, but smiled nonetheless, resting her head on his shoulder as they danced.  
  
"Lum, my beautiful Lum."  
  
"Yes, Darling?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
Lum stopped dancing then and she raised her head with an eager smile, ready to answer his words with her own. "I -" But something inside her stopped as she looked up at him with his charming eyes and his kind smile, all for her and her alone, and realized that something was very wrong. And her arms suddenly dropped from him, and her smile suddenly faded from her face, and her legs were suddenly moving backwards, away from him as she studied him in a frightened confusion. Memories of Ataru flashed across her mind - pouring her drink, kissing her forehead, extending his hand out to her - for her - to dance, and yet as kind and gentle as it all was, there was something terrifying about it all the same.  
  
Ataru, worry in his eyes, reached out for her, asking, "Lum, what's wrong?" But Lum stumbled back in her fear, shaking her head and raising a loose fist to her chest to protect herself from him. Ataru blinked in confusion and asked once more, "Lum…?"  
  
Her fearful eyes met his puzzled ones then, and, trembling, Lum swallowed hard, her heart sinking in her chest, and she replied in a shaky voice, "You're - you're not Darling."  
  
And Ataru's eyes widened in fear, realizing what she said was true.  
  
Question Number Two: Do I Know You, My Darling? (The Transition)  
  
The four sat on the train car, Ataru and Shutaro sitting opposite of Lum and Shinobu, They all looked off in their own separate directions, no pair of eyes meeting the other; they just stared out into the emptiness that laid throughout the rest of the train, they being the only ones occupying it at the moment. The sun was setting outside as the train sped along, and it's red light burned brightly through the windows, as if everything was on fire - a flameless fire that flashed across all of their faces as they solemnly gazed about, a loneliness in each of their eyes with the sound of the train running across the tracks as their only comfort. It was as if each one didn't know the others were there; as if they were really alone in the world, and had been for quite some time now. And even with the sound of the train, there was still a thick silence that hung over them all, one that stung at their eyes and clamped onto their throats as they stared down at their feet or out the window at the blur of colors that flew by, a blur that amounted to nothing but a chaotic mix of color, not even being able to find a friend in the scenery that passed outside the cold, lonely train of flameless fire.  
  
And, suddenly, Lum raised her head and Ataru raised his, as if finally sensing one another's presence - that there was someone else on the train besides their somber selves. Yet, when their eyes met, it was two pairs of strangers eyes meeting for the first time, puzzled and unsure and curious.  
  
Lum blinked a few times as she quizzically studied him for only a moment. Then, calmly and sincerely, she asked, "Do I know you, my darling?"  
  
What's Next:  
  
Episode 5: I Am Not You Are Not I Am  
  
Subtitle: (Relationships, Part 2: The Problem with Losing Your Self)

Featuring:  
  
-The "Do You Love Me?" Scenario  
  
-The Case of Shinobu Miyake (The Shinobu Miyake Project)  
  
-Graduation Interlude  
  
-The Case of Shutaro Mendou (The Shutaro Mendou Project)


	5. Episode 5: I Am Not You Are Not I Am

Again, thanks for all the nice reviews!

Er...this chapter ended up being more serious than I originally anticipated. Granted, there are still some funny moments (I'll be the first to admit that the majority of the "Graduation Interlude" really just serves the purpose of some much needed comedy relief as well as a cameo from one of my favorite UY characters) and there are some really cute scenes in it, but some of it is...well, really kind of sad. Don't worry, though! It's all still PG and there will be happy endings! LOL! Besides, a lot of the more serious stuff in this chapter is poked fun at in later chapters, lol, and it's kind of hinted at during the chapter that some things shouldn't be taken too seriously, anyway.

Also, this chapter is mainly focused on Shinobu and Mendou, although Ataru and Lum are both in it (the next chapter is Ataru and Lum's, so don't worry!). I think what also made it seem so serious was that Mendou usually isn't really done with too much depth when compared to the other three (Lum, Ataru, and Shinobu), but he had to have some in this story otherwise it really wouldn't have worked, especially considering the story is about growing up, and it could easily be argued that out of all of them, Mendou needs to do the most growing up, lol. Also, as a warning, things kind of jump around...the horizontal line is there to show when it's a separate scene (within one of the four parts, that is), but it still might get kind of confusing because some scenes sort of blend into others...well, you'll see. And all will be explained; eventually, lol.

Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the rest! This is the beginning of the second half of the story, and it shifts gears a little, focusing more on the surreal now (or, well, mostly all on the surreal), as opposed to the first half, which balanced out the surreal and the real equally. I just hope everything came out all right, especially with the characters, since the tone is a bit more somber compared to most UY stuff. Still, hope you have fun reading and I hope you like it!

Episode 5: I Am Not You Are Not I Am

Subtitle: (Relationships, Part Two: The Problem with Losing Your Self)

The "Do You Love Me?" Scenario

"Darling, do you love me?"

"Do you love me, Darling?"

"Darling! Don't you love me, Darling?"

"Darling..."

Shinobu walked quietly down the street with Shutaro in the rain, Shutaro holding a black umbrella over them both with one hand and holding Shinobu's hand with the other, and Shinobu staring down at her feet as they went across the shallow puddles. The two then stopped and Shinobu with hopeful, yet forlorn eyes looked up to the handsome Shutaro. "Shutaro, do you love me?"

Shutaro never looked down to her. Instead, he raised his solemn gaze towards the gray sky, the rain pattering on the sidewalk and on his umbrella, and he replied in a distant voice, "I think I could...maybe...someday."

The Case of Shinobu Miyake (The Shinobu Miyake Project)

Shinobu was flying; she giggled as she looked down at Tomobiki, so far below her, and then up at bright blue skies all around and above her, as well as at the two shimmering white wings that stemmed from her back. A wind blew through her hair and rustled her clothes and she smiled happily as she took a deep breath of the fresh air.

She soared around for some time by herself, zig-zagging across the sky, through the fluffy clouds and then down, flying over rivers, only inches above them, and the water surged upward on both sides of her, the wind that came from underneath her lifting it. She then flew back up, twirling about as she did so, closing her eyes and laughing happily.

However, she frowned when she opened her eyes. The sky was still bright and warm, but she suddenly felt lonely in it's vastness, and she glanced around, hoping to find someone flying through the sky as well, although the odds were rather slim that she'd find anyone at all. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders worriedly and she gazed down at the small suburban town of Tomobiki, seeming smaller than usual and so far away, making Shinobu feel even more lonely.

Unexpectedly, Shinobu felt a wind blow up the back of her blouse and lift the feathers of her wings slightly. Shinobu turned around to see that Lum had flown up from behind her, as if to meet her, much to Shinobu's relief. Lum clasped her hands behind her back and gave Shinobu a smile. "Come on! Follow me!" she said and gave her a wink before flying away at full speed.

Shinobu laughed and called out to her, "Wait for me, Lum!" before taking off after her. However, she soon began to frown as she found herself unable to keep up with Lum. "Wait, Lum! You're going to fast!" Shinobu cried, but Lum just grinned and sped up. Soon, Shinobu felt the wind give way underneath her. "Lum!" she screamed as she started to fall downward, her shimmering white wings vanishing into gold dust, and toward Tomobiki, and away from the beautiful sky. Yet she could no longer see Lum flying above her; all there was was the sky...

* * *

Shinobu now tapped her finger against her desk, resting her chin in the palm of her other hand, a bored expression on her face. She looked over to the clock that hung over the teacher's desk, yet there were no hands on its face. She sighed and looked across the classroom. Seeing that it was empty, she frowned and shuddered, suddenly feeling cold, and she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She looked toward the door, waiting for someone to show up. After glancing back a few more times, she got up and started toward the door.

She walked into the hallway, palely lit with gray, dusty light, and she ambulated forward, surprised to see how empty it was. "Hello?" she called out as she stood on her tip-toes to peer into the classroom windows only to find them just as vacant. "Hmm..." She trailed off and she frowned, scrunching her eyebrows in perplexity. "Maybe everyone's outside..."

So, she headed down the stairs and outside to find it just as empty. "Where is everybody?" she asked out loud. "Maybe it's a Sunday or something..."

She left school grounds then, and headed into town, to find it just as empty of people. Growing nervous and anxious to find someone other than herself in Tomobiki, she began running, calling out, "Hello? Isn't anybody here?"

She suddenly stopped, however, and turned her head to see a carnival before her, although empty and as dead as the rest of the town. Still, she gazed at it curiously as she took a moment to catch her breath. Then, slowly she stepped toward it. She hesitated, leaning forward to look in a bit, before walking in. She walked around, staring at all the empty booths and motionless rides and crowd less walkways.

"This place seems so familiar..." she trailed off, almost recognizing the place. Then her eyes met a large sign and she read it out loud, "The Tomobiki Summer Carnival...?"

Suddenly, she heard the sound of music and gears turning, and she gasped, spinning around to see that the carousel had mysteriously started running, lights flashing and music loud and bright. She scoffed, then, and crossed her arms. Cocking her head to the side, she declared, "How childish!"

* * *

"Shutaro! Shutaro, get down here!" Shinobu called up the living room stairs angrily as she heatedly mixed a bowl of pancake batter, holding the bowl under one arm and mixing with the other. "Breakfast will be ready soon!"

"Mommy! Mommy!" her five year old son called, tugging on Shinobu's apron.

"Not now!" she snapped as she tried to make her way back to the kitchen with her son still hanging onto her.

"But she hit me, Mommy!" the little boy continued, pointing to his older sister of seven, who sat at the kitchen table.

"That's only because he hit me first!" the sister retorted.

"I said not now!" Shinobu shouted. "Mommy's busy!" She then shook her head, muttering, "Why did I ever choose to get married young...or have kids so young either..."

"But mommy!" her son argued and Shinobu scowled furiously, ready to reprimand her son once more.

However, she unfortunately snagged her foot on one of the legs of the kitchen chairs. She let out a cry as she fell forward, landing hard on the wooden floor and scraping one of her elbows and both of her knees as the bowl of pancake batter that she had held in her hand crashed to the floor, the batter skidding across the wood and splattering onto the wall. Shinobu let out a groan and a whimper, her hair messily falling over her eyes and she sat up, near tears as she rubbed her scraped elbow. "Oh..." Then, angrily, she called out, "Shutaro! Get in here! Now!"

"Yeah? What's wrong this time?" a familiar voice answered in annoyance, however it was not the familiar voice she had in mind. She looked up to the door with a gasp then to see Ataru Moroboshi standing at the doorway, and her eyes widened in horror at the sight before she let out a terrified scream.

* * *

"Alone again," Shinobu said to herself, walking along the empty boardwalk. "Why am I always alone?" She sighed glumly and leaned against the railing, staring out into the vast ocean. "The ocean...it's just as lonely as I am right now...probably..."

" But I suppose it's better than being married to Ataru Moroboshi," she decided. "Or, well, whoever he was supposed to be. I wonder what Lum sees in him, anyway. I wonder what I ever saw in him..."

"Darling!" Lum's voice called out.

"Huh?" Shinobu's eyes fell to the white beach and she then saw Lum clinging onto Ataru's arm, laughing happily as she did so.

Shinobu sighed with a dreamy smile as she leaned forward to watch the two, the sea breeze blowing through her hair. Her eyes looked longing at the couple, wishing she was somehow them in that moment.

"Come on, Lum! Will you let go of me?!" Ataru protested, trying to pull away from Lum's grip.

"Darling!" Lum exclaimed furiously and suddenly her laughter ceased, being replaced by the sound of her shocking Ataru.

Shinobu frowned and shook her head in disgust. "No, no, they argue too much; they'll never last that long," she said matter-of-factly, but a puzzled look then spread across her face. "I wonder how they've lasted so long, anyway..." After a moment of thought, and coming up with no answer, she sighed and turned around.

However, when she did, she saw herself facing the carousel again, although it was again not on. Her shoulders slumped back in disappointment as she looked at it, and then stared around the empty carnival. Sighing, she took a seat on the carousel platform, not knowing what else to do. "I wish Shutaro were around," she said somberly as she glumly looked around. "I feel like I haven't talked to him in so long...the quiet is kind of peaceful, though..."

She smiled at this thought, listening to the wind and taking in the silence. "Everything's so peaceful," she repeated taking in another breath of fresh air. "Maybe this carousel isn't so bad, after all. At least I don't have to worry about anything here...I can just be...me..."

Just as she found herself enjoying her solitude, something came to her ears - laughing. Shinobu perked up hopefully, forgetting all about the serenity about her, and she jumped to her feet. She listened for another moment, and when she was certain that it was laughter, she grinned and started after it. However, she stopped, turning back to the carousel she had so thoughtlessly went to abandon. Frowning with some guilt, she looked at it a moment longer, and then out toward the exit of the carnival, yearning for it and the voices of people. She sighed, shameful of her own weakness, but she simply couldn't help herself, and took one last gaze back at the quiet carousel, and said to it, "I'm sorry, but I guess I'm just not ready for you yet." She then turned, making her way toward the exit. And as soon as her feet stepped out of the carnival and onto the sidewalk, the carousel turned on again, twirling about with it's pretty melody and it's brilliant lights.

Shinobu spotted three schoolgirls dressed in Tomobiki school uniform turning the corner, the same laughter coming from them as she had heard only moments before. Quickly, Shinobu ran after them. "Hey! Wait!" she called, but none of them turned to acknowledge her.

"Wait up!" she repeated and went to tap one on the shoulder, but instead her hand went straight through, as if she were some apparition. Shinobu let out a nervous cry as she immediately jolted her hand back towards herself, her arms starting to tremble. "What's - what's happened to me?" she asked shakily, but then shook her head determinedly, and ran after them, towards the Tomobiki High School.

"Hello? Can't anyone see me? Someone, please, someone notice me!" she cried as she ran through the schoolyard and through all the students, as if she wasn't even there at all. Noticing Ataru and Lum sitting and talking on the grass she quickly ran up to them. "Ataru! Lum! Please, notice me!" And she tried to shake them, but her hands fell through them as well.

They simply continued giggling, immersed in a conversation that Shinobu, for some reason, couldn't here, and Shinobu felt like sobbing because of it. Angry tears in her eyes, she still refused to give up and she glared down at Ataru. "Ataru! Ataru, can't you hear me? You're supposed to be able to sense when a girl's around, right? So why can't you sense me now? Why can't you be the stupid lecher that you always are?" Yet Ataru just continued talking with Lum. Shinobu shook her head and shifted her eyes to the blue-haired Oni, crying, "Lum! Lum, you're supposed to be something special! Can't you see me now? Please! Lum!" Yet no answer came from Lum, either, and Shinobu spun away from them, her fiery tears flinging from her eyes, and she shouted, "Doesn't anybody notice me?!"

She gasped then, her eyes spotting Shutaro, standing on the roof of the school and gazing off toward the sky. Shinobu laughed, tears still in her eyes, and stammered in her hopeful excitement, "Shu - Shutaro! He'll notice me! He has to!"

She quickly made her way up the stairs and to the roof, where Shutaro stood, at the very edge, still smiling and looking out at the sky. "Shutaro!" she exclaimed, running up to him. However, she frowned when he didn't answer her. "Shutaro?" she repeated, her hope running out quickly. But he didn't look over to her or even flinch as she stood behind him.

Shinobu narrowed her eyes, very angry tears flinging from them, and exclaimed furiously, "This is all your fault! You're the one who is supposed to notice me!" And, still, he didn't turn to her. She let out an aggravated sigh and continued on, "It's your job to notice me! I hate it when you ignore me!" There was a silence as Shinobu desperately waited for an answer. Then, she marched over to stand by his side, looking up fiercely at his face. "Don't you even care? Why won't you answer me?! Why won't anyone answer me?!"

And Shutaro unexpectedly turned to her and asked curiously, "Why do you need anyone to answer you?"

Shinobu gasped, cheeks flushing as she took a step back, closed her eyes, and shook her head. "I... I didn't know you could..." she stammered, before opening her eyes again to see Shutaro was gazing back out at the sky again, as if he had never spoke to her before. "Shutaro?" she asked, feeling despair was returning to her eyes. "Shutaro, please, Shutaro..." she trailed off hopelessly. She frowned, tears in her eyes as they looked down to her feet. "Did I just imagine he talked to me...?" she wondered aloud through her quiet sobs.

But she shook her head once more and lifted it to face him. "Shutaro, I know you can hear me! Shutaro, answer me! Shutaro!" She then reached her hand out to his shoulder and, surprisingly, she felt her hand press against it and push him forward. She gasped, her eyes slowly widening as Shutaro turned his head to see her, his feet stumbling underneath him, soon to give way, and a confusion in his eyes.

"Miss...Shinobu?" he asked in a frightened shock as he slowly started to fall from her and toward the ground that seemed so far away now.

Shinobu blinked her wet eyes in disbelief, a fear ripping at her heart as she watched him falling back, towards the sky and off the roof. "Shu - Shutaro?" she stammered, unable to breath as she watched him. She shook her head, tears still flinging from her eyes as she desperately reach a hand out to him, crying, "Shutaro!" But there fingers never touched and he slipped away from her and away from the sky, and fell toward the dark, hateful ground.

Shinobu fell to her knees, sobbing, as the roof around her became a beautiful valley, the sun shining brightly and a gentle spring breeze allowing the flowers to float across the sky. A small tombstone formed in front of her knees that read, "Shutaro Mendou, may he always rest in peace..."

"Did I...did I kill him?" Shinobu wondered aloud as she stared at the tombstone, tears streaming down her cheeks.

And a comforting hand fell onto her shoulder then and Shinobu looked up to see a stranger standing behind her, curly red hair and a somber look in his eyes. Shinobu stared up at the man curiously, unsure what to make of him, before returning her eyes back to the grave of Shutaro Mendou and the rest of the quiet, beautiful valley...

Graduation Interlude

"GRADUATION - the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma - COMMENCEMENT. To some...a beginning. To others...and end. In many eyes it is an accomplishment; still others, a miracle in itself; and yet more, a dream that will never EVER be fulfilled! FAILURE! HUMILIATION! EVENTUAL POVERTY AND SELF DESTRUCTION! Yes, all these words define graduation!" Megane spoke with much enthusiasm and excitement as he stood at the podium that early Sunday morning, the sunlight shining on him and reflecting brilliantly off his glasses as he spoke on behalf of the graduating class of Tomobiki High in the form of Class President. He beamed with a sense of pride, proud to be able to make his speech in front of much of the inhabitants of Tomobiki. However, most of the audience, including the graduates behind him, appeared uneasy at the way Megane dramatically pronounced each syllable of each word, particularly emphasizing the words, "failure," "humiliation," and "self destruction" with a roar of misery and unavoidable suffering. Yet Megane continued on, unscathed by his audience's reaction.

"However, as for myself and the graduates seated behind me, the word 'graduation' takes on a new meaning. Yes, to some, it may still be a miracle, and to those who failed to pass the required classes, it may be the ultimate failure, but what graduation truly means now is...PERSISTENCE! Yes, it is persistence that graduation symbolizes! We dedicated the majority of our youth - of our young, pathetic lives - to the tyrannical educational system, slaving away day in and day out, the heavy labor of schoolwork loading us down. Yet, somehow, we managed to survive - yes, survive the tyrannical oppression of Tomobiki High - and now that we have, we have broken our chains and will lead our lives into equally oppressive educational systems that will pretend to give us more freedom. Yet, a fake freedom is better than no freedom at all! And after our university endeavors, we will move on to the world of corporate business, where we will continue to be oppressed. Still, we will move up the ladder until we are old men and women, nearly senile, and then WE, OURSELVES, can become the tyrants! Yes! One day, far in the future, we, ourselves, will become the power and money hungry mongrels of society and humanity will indeed live on, through us! However, our own days of tyranny could not be accomplished if not for our own oppression. And that makes this day so significant! We have survived this oppression, in the form of graduation, while those who failed miserably will undoubtedly and indefinitely remain slaves their whole lives. But I must ask you all one question - WHY did we survive? And I will tell you again - persistence! It is PERSISTENCE that embodies graduation. For if we did not stubbornly fight our way up the ladder of success, we would fall to horrible, violent fates of mindless and blind slavery to the tyrannical system..."

"Megane always had a few screws lose..." Ataru muttered as Megane continued on with his speech. He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"Well, his speech is a bit depressing," Shinobu remarked with a frown, folding her arms awkwardly.

Ataru shrugged as Lum leaned across Ataru and whispered, "But it is a depressing day, isn't it?"

Ataru raised an eyebrow. "How so?" he inquired.

Lowering her head and placing her hands in her lap, she said glumly, "Well, this will be the last time we'll ever see each other again. After today - "

"That's not true," Ataru interrupted matter-of-factly. "We're all not going that far. I mean, me and you are going to the same school, Lum, and the others...well, most of them aren't even leaving Japan."

"How can you act so calm, Darling?!" Lum declared in outrage.

"What? We're all still going to be nearby," Ataru argued. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Not Shutaro," Shinobu stated quietly with sad eyes staring down at her feet. "He's going to school all the way in America..."

"Oh, yeah, I nearly forgot about that..." Ataru trailed off with a frown. He then shrugged and crossed his hands behind the back of his head. "Oh, well; it's just Mendou, anyway."

"VERMIN!" Megane shouted, causing Ataru, Lum, Shinobu and the entire graduating class to nearly jump out of their seats. "Like vermin we roam this earth, searching for some sort of WORTH in our pitiful existence. Yet we find none! TRAPPED - TRAPPED in a never-ending wheel of miserable fate! Running and running like pitiful RATS, never to escape! And why? Why must we suffer so? Why won't they just let you leave?" Megane then sunk into the podium, sobbing into his arm. The others stared at him, faces distorted with confusion and fright.

"Damn them, though! Damn them all!" Megane's booming voice returned to him as he rose from the podium. "For we have all persevered! And soon WE will trap THEM in cages! Yes, cages with wheels! And they will run endlessly enslaved to the system of oppression! For THAT is truly the essence of graduation!" He held his hands out high expecting a roar of applause. However, all there was was a long, awkward silence. He stood frozen for a moment before blinking, lowering his arms, and clearing his throat. "Um, yes, well...to conclude, I would like to personally thank a certain someone who, with her presence, all things are possible! Without her, I surely would have failed as would have the rest of the student body, cursed for eternity with sorrow and humiliation! But, alas, she came to our little, unworthy town, to save us all from our forlorn fate! So, thank you, Lum, for sparing us from torment and suffering! You are the cause of my success and the success of all things! And you, Lum, are the reason that this graduation exists!" There was a burst of applause and cheers as Lum smiled modestly.

After the applause died out, Megane's gazed remained on Lum for a long moment of longing before he forced himself to turn back to his audience. "Now," he began, "although you are all CLEARLY aware of the true meaning of graduation - oppression, enslavement, tyranny, and above all things, persistence to become those tyrants who oppress and enslave - I present to you all the Class Valedictorian, Shutaro Mendou, who will ATTEMPT to tell you all something as profound and as meaningful as my elegant speech. Don't bee too hard on him, though, if he is unable to succeed in explaining the horrors of the educational system as well as I have." He gestured to Shutaro. "Mendou."

There was a burst of applause as Shutaro rose proudly, grinning a cocky grin, and swiftly stepping forward.

Ataru scoffed. "Great..." he muttered sarcastically. "Just another way to stroke his ego."

"Now, you can't say he doesn't deserve some of it..." Shinobu argued and Ataru simply scoffed again.

Shutaro gave Megane a glare of disgust and perplexity as he passed him and then took the podium with a grin. "Family, friends, faculty," he began with an air of dignity as the applause diminished. "On behalf of the graduates seated behind me, I would like to thank all of you. Not only for attending this morning's ceremony, but for your support, dedication, and strength that you have given to us over the years. Without it, we could never have gotten this far. I would also like to extend my appreciation to those graduates behind me who have been both my friends and comrades through my journey thus far."

Ataru almost began to laugh out loud. "If that's isn't the biggest load of bull I ever heard!" he exclaimed

"Well...at least he says it well," Shinobu remarked, frowning. She perked up a bit and added, "And with a nice smile, too."

Shutaro's debonair grin flashed across the audience once more. "This part of our lives is over," he continued. "Yet that does not mean that our journey is over. Although we may separate to travel different paths, we will continue on until we each fulfill our own destinies. However, without the memories of the friends we met or the valuable lessons we learned, we could never -"

The Case of Shutaro Mendou (The Shutaro Mendou Project)

"I'm afraid of the dark!" Shutaro screamed loudly and hysterically as he crazily swung his katana about him while running through the darkness. "I'm afraid of the dark! I'm afraid of the dark! I'm afraid - huh?" He stopped, then, to see he was standing in front of a full-length mirror, and could see his reflection, kantana over his head and all. He lowered his kantana then and sheathed it. Then, with a grin, he proudly examined himself in the mirror. "Not bad," he smugly remarked.

Turning his head a bit to the side to get a good look at his profile, he spotted another mirror with the corner of his eye. He curiously spun all the way about to see that it was, in fact, a whole corridor of mirrors. "That's odd..." He then went back to look at the original mirror.

However, to his unfortunate surprise, his reflection wasn't there. "What the...?" he questioned as he looked at the mirror and placed both hands against it. Still seeing no reflection, he narrowed his eyes and turned to the other mirrors in the corridor. Yet none contained his reflection. After traveling quite a bit down the corridor, having looked in a few dozen mirrors, Shutaro stopped. He glanced back from where he came from and then back in the direction he was going. It all seemed endless to him. And Shutaro scrunched his eyebrows in puzzlement and frowned.

* * *

Shutaro ran in from the rain, and shook his arms, trying to dry them quicker. He then looked around to see a group of people - many that he knew - dressed in black, a casket surrounded with flowers in the front of the room. "Hmm...must be a wake," Shutaro decided and frowned as he glanced down at his white attire. However, he walked in anyway and soon spotted Lum and Ataru sitting in the second row.

"Moroboshi," he said and then gave Lum a smile and said, "Miss Lum." She smiled back as best as she could and Ataru didn't even bother to look up.

"Hey, Mendou," Ataru said. "You're late."

"I didn't know there was a wake," he replied, taking a seat next to Ataru.

Ataru let out a sharp chuckle. "How could you NOT know?"

"Shut up, Moroboshi," Shutaro grumbled with a fierce glare. Then, after a moment, he asked, "Who's the wake for?"

Ataru burst into a fit of laughter then and Lum gave him a stern look. "Darling! Don't be so cruel!" Lum looked sympathetically to Shutaro then and said, "I'm sorry, Shutaro. I'm so sorry."

"Well, I say good riddance!" Ataru declared. "I just can't wait until this wake is over! Then it will finally be official!"

"Darling! That's a horrible thing to say!" Lum scolded and then told Shutaro, "I'm sure Darling doesn't mean it, but you know how he is...although, I must say I'm glad it was someone else and not Darling who...well...actually, now that I think about it, I guess that's who I'd pick to go first out of all of us, considering, well..."

"Well, what?" Shutaro inquired.

But Lum just looked down at her knees, guilt in her eyes. "You better go and pay your respects, though, Shutaro, before it's too late..."

"Yeah; you'll probably be the only one who will anyway!" Ataru mockingly added and starting laughing loudly, the rest of the guests at the wake joining in.

Shutaro frowned, feeling very uncomfortable all of a sudden as the guests continued to cruelly chuckle. He got up, however, and headed slowly and warily for the casket to pay his respects like Lum had instructed. But Shinobu was standing in front of the casket, as if purposely trying to block it from him. She had her arms crossed and she was glaring with a fierce hate; it was a look that Shutaro had never seen from her before and was surprised to see now. "Miss Shinobu?" he asked. "What's - "

"Don't expect me to feel any sympathy for you," she harshly interrupted as she sneered up at him. "You never really liked me; you never really like anyone, really - except for yourself, of course. Besides, what do you expect? I was the one who pushed you off, anyway. Not like you didn't deserve it."

"Pushed me off?" he asked in confusion as Shinobu stepped away from the casket for him to see. Shutaro's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but yet nothing would come out. The laughter from the others was burning in his ears and he desperately wished it would stop, yet he couldn't bring himself to cover his ears. Instead, he scowled and clenched his fists, unsure if he was angry at himself or everyone else around him. And he glared down at the casket in contempt where he saw himself lying, so peaceful, and handsome - and dead.

* * *

"Miss Shinobu! Miss Shinobu, please, open up the door," Shutaro called, knocking loudly on the door.

"Someday?!" Shinobu's fierce voice came through the other side of the door and Shutaro cringed. "How could you have said someday?!"

"Well, I...I didn't mean it the way you think I did, Miss Shinobu!" Shutaro desperately called back. "What I meant was - "

Suddenly, Shinobu swung open the door and angrily demanded, "Then say it!"

Shutaro frowned nervously as he looked down at the fury in her eyes, a vein bulging from her left temple. "Say what?" he asked hesitantly.

"Say that you love me!"

"Well...uh...I..." Shutaro stammered, his cheeks turning pink, and Shinobu let out a scream, slamming the door back in his face. "Miss Shinobu!" he pleaded.

"You jerk!" she shouted and Shutaro's face fell into desperation.

"Please, Miss Shinobu, I was going to say it," Shutaro insisted. "You just didn't give me enough time to - "

"You shouldn't need time!" she interrupted. "It should be automatic!" Shutaro could hear a large wail come from her then as she fell into a fit of sobs.

"Miss Shinobu..." he trailed off and then placed his hand on the doorknob, slowly turning it and opening the door. "Miss Shinobu...?" He could see her, laying on her bed and crying into her arms, and he averted his eyes from her, a guilt and shame seizing him and stinging his eyes and throat. He dropped his hand from the door and it fell to his side, lifelessly hanging from his arm, and her sobs were the only sound between the two of them.

* * *

"You do love Moroboshi, don't you, Miss Lum?" Shutaro asked as he and Lum walked down the sunny, busy street.

Lum nodded vigorously as she licked her snow cone. "Oh, sure! I love Darling!" she answered with a joyful smile. "I'll always love him."

"Always?" he questioned and she nodded. "I see..."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason," he replied, glancing away. "Where would you like to go next, Miss Lum, on our date this afternoon?"

"Hmm..." Lum trailed off for a moment, before she smile with some suggestions, "Well, Darling and me sometimes go to the park. Or the beach! Oh, and last weekend we went to see this cute movie together. Darling thought it was boring, but I thought it was really romantic. But Darling's like that, you know. Or maybe we could go skating together! Darling and I love to go skating together; we have so much fun and he's so funny when he falls. He never really hurts himself, of course, because if he did then I'd be really upset! Have you ever gone skating, Shutaro? One time you should come with me - and Darling, of course!"

"Yes...and Moroboshi..." Shutaro trailed off with a frown.

"Or maybe you can go with Shinobu," Lum offered.

"Miss Shinobu?" Shutaro asked, looking up with some fear in his eyes.

"You like her, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I like Miss Shinobu..."

"Oh, look, it's Darling!" Lum cheered, changing the subject, and she gave a wave, suddenly spotting Ataru walking in the crowd. She giggled happily and turned to Shutaro with twinkling eyes and a happy smile. "What a surprise! Well, it's been fun, Shutaro; thanks for the snow cone!" She smiled once more for him before flying off, dropping her snow cone onto the ground, and Shutaro let out a sigh as he watched her latch onto Ataru's arm with a happy grin on her face, and he knew it really was no use, after all, and that he should have known better than to think there was.

* * *

Shutaro found himself surrounded by beautiful woman, dozens of them in extravagant dresses and with gorgeous hair, all laughing and talking and looking right at him, desperate for just a glance from him, and blushing wildly whenever he did, perchance, flash a smile down at them. "Oh, Shutaro, you're so wonderful!" one cooed.

"And so handsome!" another added.

"And so rich!" a third chimed in, and all the girls giggled.

Shutaro chuckled, feigning modesty, although very badly, and answered, "Really, girls, I'm not THAT perfect..."

"But you are, Shutaro!" a fourth protested, shaking her head at the mere thought he wasn't.

"Perfect in every way!" a fifth squealed with more praise and all the girls giggled flirtatiously once more.

Shutaro stroked his hand through his hair, his eyes bright and his smile charming. "Well, if you all insist..." He chuckled once more and the girls all laughed along with him. As he laughter slowly faded, his eyes caught Shinobu walking, past the crowd of girls and him, smiling pleasantly in her plain skirt and blouse as she kept her eyes forward, not noticing Shutaro or the crowd of beautiful woman. Shutaro blinked in surprise and then to the girls, saying, "If you'd just excuse me for a moment..."

There were groans of protests as Shutaro pushed his way through the crowd as the girls begged him not to go, crying, "Stay, Shutaro! Don't leave!"

But Shutaro ignored them as he somehow managed to pull himself away from them all, their hands clawing at his arms as he tried to get free. Finally, stumbling out, he looked forward to see Shinobu only a few yards away, trotting along at a steady pace. "Miss Shinobu!" he called out to her as he started after her. "Miss Shinobu, wait!"

Shinobu stopped then and turned curiously to him, inquiring, "Can I help you with something, sir?"

"I just wanted to apologize, Miss Shinobu," Shutaro began, "For - "

"Wait, I know you from somewhere, don't I?" she asked with an inquisitive grin as she pointed her finger at him. "Your face looks kind of familiar."

"Huh?" Shutaro stared at her for a long moment, surprised and speechless. Then, realizing what she had just said, his face turned pink with embarrassment. Taking a step closer to her, he finally managed to say, "Miss Shinobu, I'm - "

"No, wait! Let me guess!" she interrupted with a giggle. Placing a finger to her chin, she said, "Now let's see...do you work around here? No, that couldn't be it...at least, I don't think so. That's not it, is it?"

"No," Shutaro answered, very puzzled. "I mean, I- "

"Or maybe I've seen you around the park!" Shinobu suggested excitedly, ignoring him. "I remember meeting a cute boy there last weekend." But she then shook her head and frowned. "No, I don't think that's it. The boy I met there was a lot cuter than you, no offense, of course." And she gave him an innocent grin.

"Cuter? Than me?" Shutaro questioned, his voice filled with horror at the simple idea.

"Actually, now that I look at you, you're not very cute at all," she commented very calmly as she looked him over and placed her finger back on her chin. "I mean, not to say you're not ALL RIGHT looking..."

Shutaro glowered. "What do you mean all right looking?!" he furiously exclaimed.

"Well, I didn't mean it in a BAD way," Shinobu insisted. "You really ought to lighten up." And she let out a good-natured chuckle and gave him a warm.

But Shutaro shook his head. "That's not the point, anyway!" he shouted, taking hold of her shoulders. "How could you not recognize me?! It's me! Shutaro!"

"Shutaro...? Hmm..." she wondered aloud. "That sort of sounds familiar." She then grinned and said, "I know! We probably know each other from school, right?" She smiled hopefully, but Shutaro just frowned. Shinobu frowned a bit as well now and asked, "That's not it, either?"

"Well...it's sort of right..." he muttered and released her shoulders.

"Then I'll see you in school then, all right, um...what was your name again?" she asked and Shutaro sighed.

"Shutaro," he answered glumly and Shinobu smiled.

"That's right! Shutaro! I'll try to remember that next time!" she told him and laughed in spite of herself. "Well, goodbye, Shutaro," she then said as she began to walk away, giving him a wave as she did so. "Maybe we can, I don't know, hang out some time or something."

"Goodbye...Miss Shinobu..." Shutaro called back with a frown as he watched her head off without ever looking back to see him giving her a half-hearted wave. After she was out of sight, he crossed his arms and scoffed, glaring down at the street in annoyance for making such a fool of himself and at her for causing him to do so.

"You know, Mendou, I think you're taking all this stuff a little bit too seriously," he suddenly heard Ataru's voice and Shutaro looked up to see Ataru standing a couple feet away, leaning against one of the buildings. "It's not like we really hate you or anything. I mean, I don't hate you; I always thought it was you that hated me."

And Shutaro just snorted and averted his eyes from Ataru in disgust, coldly replying, "That's because you're an idiot, Moroboshi."

* * *

Shutaro looked up at the sky, bright and blue, the sun's rays streaking like gold across the sky, and then down at the rest of the valley that encircled him. He soon spotted Shinobu, kneeling by a tombstone with a red-haired man. He squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at the man, but quickly gave up. His eyes fell back down to Shinobu and the grave. "I suppose I really am dead, then...hmm." he replied with a nonchalant shrug. "At least Miss Shinobu doesn't hate me any longer," he added with a smile. But he frowned a bit soon after as he said, "Although I wish I hadn't made her cry again...I always hate seeing a woman cry..."

He then looked back up toward the sky to see a smiling Shinobu floating above him with white wings sparkling like gold, as if she were an angel. And Shutaro gave her a charming grin. "Well, if you insist, my dear lady," he said, bowing courteously, "then I suppose that I have no choice but to stay here with you. After all, I am a gentleman, and a gentleman never turns down a lady, Miss Shinobu, especially one he holds so dearly to his heart, even if he doesn't know in what way he exactly holds her."

And then he fell backwards, onto the grass of the beautiful, lonely valley.

What's Next:

Episode 6: The Scariest Thing of All is White Picket Fences

Subtitle: (Relationships, Part Three: The Problem with Commitment)

Featuring:

-Wedding Interlude

-The Case of the Oni Lum (The Lum Project)

-The "Always and Forever" Scenario

-The Case of Ataru Moroboshi (The Ataru Moroboshi Project)


	6. Episode 6:  The Scariest Thing of All is...

Hi, everyone! Again, thanks for the very nice reviews! Although now I'm nervous that the end's going to suck or everyone's going to be disappointed or something...lol.

Anyways, here's chapter 6! This is Lum and Ataru's chapter (although Chapter 7 is kind of their chapter, too), which I told you all before. I don't know if this came out as good as chapter 5; it was a lot harder to do, anyway. Well, not a lot harder - harder in a different way. Whereas Shinobu and Mendou rarely have such an in-depth look into their characters, so much has already been done with both Ataru and Lum in the series and movies that it was hard to come up with something new and original while still staying true to their characters and the story. Anyway, I hope I did all right, but I will say that there were a lot of parts I really enjoyed writing in this and a one of the scenes in this was particularly one of my favorite to write in the whole story (I won't say which one because I don't want to give anything away). I don't know, though, if that necessarily means it's a stellar scene or anything; I just had fun writing it, that's all. lol. Again, although there are some funny scenes scattered around, some of it is really sad as well. It's kind of a mix bag, I guess, of comedy and drama, but I don't think it's as depressing as Shinobu and Mendou's chapter was. There's kind of a reason for that, though, although I won't state it now because it kind of gives away parts of the ending... Oh, yeah, and I apologize for the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter! And, also the one at the end of chapter 7...sorry about that! lol!

Also, just like chapter 5, things might get confusing and jump around a lot; so separate scenes within the four featured parts will be separated by a horizontal line again, unless a scene happens to flow into another one (I know there's a big scene in this, actually, which is composed of separate scenes flowing into each other, just to warn you...actually, I think there's a few like that...hopefully it won't be too confusing!).

With that, and only three more chapters to go, here's chapter 6!

Episode 6: The Scariest Thing of All is White Picket Fences

Subtitle: (Relationships, Part Three: The Problem with Commitment)

Wedding Interlude

The wedding march played and Lum grinned, dressed in white lace, her hair in curls, with a tiara and veil, and a bouquet of white and pink flowers in her hand. She took a deep breath and started gracefully down the aisle, towards the altar, where a smiling priest stood. Gazing over the teary-eyed guests, she felt her own eyes welling up as her grinned widened. Today was the day she had dreamed about all her life - her wedding day.

Lum reached the altar, more beautiful than she had ever been in her entire life, glowing with her joy and excitement. The wedding march faded away into a silence and Lum closed her eyes and lifted her head with a smile, waiting for the priest to start speaking. However, when the silence remained, Lum frowned and fluttered her eyes open, glancing around her in a puzzled worry. Murmurs began to ripple across the guests, and the tears in Lum's eyes that had once been joy were now replaced with despair. "Darling?" she asked aloud, hoping he would answer her, but he did not. "Darling!" she now cried, a sob catching in her throat when she did as she realized she was alone at the altar. The priest gave her a sympathetic look, closing the bible and shaking his head.

Then Lum turned her head to gaze down the empty aisle.

The Case of the Oni Lum (The Lum Project)

Lum stood in front of the carousel with a smile as she watched it spin around with it's melody. "How pretty!" she exclaimed happily, as if it were the first time she had seen it, and went towards it. However, she stopped when, to her surprise, when the carousel flashed with a bright white light, and she put her arm in front of her eyes as to not be blinded by it. Then, when the light dimmed, she lowered it, to see a dozen unicorns with silvery manes, standing upon the carousel. They then started galloping toward her, yet Lum did not cower at the sight of the speeding unicorns. Instead, she giggled, silver dust glittering all around her as they ran past her, not one coming close to hitting her. And Lum twirled around, her skirt flipping about in the silver dust that sparkled all about her, to watch the unicorns fly upward towards the starry sky. Lum stretched a hand out towards them as they faded into the heavens, and her smile soon became bittersweet. She lowered her arm with a frown, and lowered her eyes as well, wondering why she hadn't followed.

* * *

Grinning, Lum floated into the schoolyard, humming merrily to herself. However, to her surprise, she noticed the students staring at her with disgust, whispering and murmuring to each other. Lum's face became puzzled and she looked herself over; nothing seemed wrong.

"It's so weird how she flies like that, don't you think, Shutaro?" she heard Shinobu whisper and she turned to see her standing with Shutaro.

Shutaro nodded. "I have to agree, Miss Shinobu; it just isn't normal," he agreed and Lum frowned, slowly placing her feet onto the ground.

"And that blue hair!" Shinobu added with a grimace. "I'm glad my hair isn't that strange." And Lum, with a panicked look in her eye, looked down at her blue hair that laid on her shoulders.

"Yes, and those horns!" Shutaro said, laughing, and Lum's hands immediately shot up to her horns, biting her lower lip worriedly. "How absolutely ridiculous do they look!"

"Sh! Sh! She'll hear you!" Shinobu said in a scolding whisper, trying to suppress her own giggles. "And you know how uncivil she can be! I mean, with those electric shocks and those fangs!" Lum's hands dropped to examine her fangs, pressing a finger against each one.

"No respectable woman would act so barbaric," Shutaro agreed as he folded her arms. "I really don't know why Moroboshi puts up with her." Shinobu concurred with a nod.

Lum's arms fell to her sides as she felt herself begin to cry, the sound of cruel, mocking laughter engulfing her. She shook her head, wrapping her arms tightly around her shoulders, and flew upwards, her crystal tears falling from her eyes as she flew far away from the others and their cold laughter. Then, when she was alone, she sniffled a bit and dropped her eyes toward her dangling feet, tears still glistening in her eyes. Then, she said quietly to herself, "Darling..."

"What's wrong, Lum?" Ataru's voice came to her and Lum looked up in surprise to see she was at the carnival again, besides the carousel. He then folded his arms stubbornly. "You're not crying over the stupid carousel again, are you? Because I'm still not going on it; and I still think it's a stupid reason to want to go on it just because the unicorns have horns like you do."

"No, that's not it," she said, shaking her head.

"Then, what is it?"

"You think I'm normal, don't you, Darling?" she asked and Ataru broke into a fit of laughter, doubling over in his hysterics. Lum scowled furiously. "What's so funny?!"

"You? Normal?" He laughed even harder, shaking his head with his chuckles.

"Well, how would you know, anyway?!" she cried, crossing her arms and turning her back to him.

"Huh?" Ataru's laughter quickly died out, noticing Lum's back was to him. "Aw, Lum...I didn't mean it in a BAD way...so who cares that you're not normal? No one's really normal, anyway, so you're kind of just like everyone else."

"Everyone else?" Lum asked hopefully and turned back to Ataru with pleading eyes.

Ataru just gave her a casual shrug. "Well, you're more like us than you're like the stupid unicorns, anyway."

* * *

"Will you let go of my arm, Lum?"

"Leave me alone, Lum!"

"Lum, not now!"

"Jeez, Lum, why do you always have to cling onto me like that?!"

Lum frowned as she looked down at her feet as she and Ataru sat together on Ataru's bed in Ataru's room with the lights out, rain falling down outside his window. "Darling...am I a bother to you?" she asked. Ataru frowned and shrugged. "Do you...want me to go away...? Because I will, if you want me to..." Yet Ataru still wouldn't answer; all he would was give her a shrug.

And Lum simply assumed that he meant "yes."

* * *

Lum tapped her foot impatiently as she waited outside the restaurant, looking down at her watch with a scowl on her face. "Where could he be?" she questioned aloud. She let out a frustrated sigh as she brought her head back up and dropped her arm to the side. "Ooh...Darling!" she exclaimed angrily to herself. "That jerk! Why doesn't he ever keep his promises?" Angrily, she slumped against the outside wall of the restaurants, in hopes that he would still show up.

* * *

Glowering, Lum looked up at the clock tower at Tomobiki high school as she waited in the schoolyard. "Darling!" she exclaimed to herself. "Where are you? You were supposed to be here a half an hour ago!" But she just crossed her arms and continued to wait.

* * *

Lum sat on the park bench, glaring at her watch. With an exasperated sigh, she rose to her feet. "Darling!" she muttered under her breath, scowl on her face and angry sparks coming from her. A fierce growl escaping her lips, she turned and began to finally decide to leave.

"Hey, Lum!" Ataru called out to Lum, and Lum turned around in surprise, seeing him standing a few feet away.

Grinning excitedly, Lum exclaimed, "Darling!"

"Come on, Lum!" he told her, gesturing her to follow him, and then he then started running.

Lum laughed happily. "Wait up, Darling!" she called and started to fly after him. However, as fast as she went, Ataru still stayed the same distance ahead of her. She frowned and pushed herself to go faster. "Darling!" she called out again, but she felt herself and everything else slowing down, as if falling into a monotonous slow, and Ataru got farther and farther. She let out a cry, tears falling from her eyes as she stretched her hand forward, her palm outstretched, straining her arm as to try and catch him. "Darling! Please, don't leave me, Darling!" she exclaimed, but he was nothing more than a silhouette now, and he certainly couldn't hear her. And she whispered to herself "Darling..." as everything around her turned white.

She stopped then, staring out at the blank white emptiness that encircled her in confusion, the last of her tears leaving her eyes, her despair being replaced with confusion. "Darling? Darling? Are you here, Darling?" No answer came and she frowned.

She floated around the barren white for some time, trying to find it's end, but she had no luck. "Hello? Isn't anyone here?" she called. Then, something flickering in the distance, caught the corner of her eye, and she turned. She squinted her eyes, trying to see what it was, but, realizing it was futile, she decided to fly towards it.

When she reached it, she found it was a mirror, but her reflection was strange and she cocked her head to the side, staring at it inquisitively. Her hair was black, her head hornless, her mouth fangless, and her leopard bikini was replaced by a Tomobiki school girl uniform. Nor was she flying in the reflection, although she was floating; instead, her reflection was standing on some sort of tiled floor that did not exist in the white world Lum was in. Lum gazed at the strange reflection and lifted her fingers to it in her perplexed daze.

And as her fingers touched the mirror, she transformed into the reflection - her blue hair turned black, her horns disappeared as did her fangs, and her leopard bikini grew into a flowing school girl skirt, and her bikini top into the school girl's sailor shirt. The white emptiness transformed as well, morphing into the girls' bathroom of Tomobiki High School, and Lum found herself leaning over one of the sinks and looking at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She frowned in disappointment as she tried to brush through her black hair with her fingers, and then turned to her book bag, pulling out a hairbrush and starting to brush it.

The toilet in one of the stalls flushed and Shinobu emerged, heading over to the sink to wash her hands. "My hair's...so...ugh!" Lum complained to her as she brushed through it. "It just kind of sits there; it's so dull!"

Shinobu shrugged, turning off the faucet and shaking her hands to dry them. "It's not that dull," she told her. "At least your hair is long."

"Well, I told you that you should grow out your hair," Lum commented before groaning and slamming her brush down onto the bathroom counter. "Oh, it's no use!" she exclaimed, with a slam of her foot as she looked angrily at her hair reflecting in the mirror.

"I think it's fine..." Shinobu trailed off and then headed for the door. "Come on; we're going to be late for class."

"Fine..." Lum reluctantly agreed, shoving her hairbrush back into her bag and following after Shinobu. As the two girls walked down the crowded hallway, filled with chattering students, Lum said, "Hey, I was thinking. Maybe I should dye my hair or something; you know, really liven it up? What do you think?"

"Dye it?" Shinobu asked with an intrigued laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Oh, I don't know!" Lum exclaimed, laughing as well. "But it would be fun, don't you think? Maybe you could dye yours, too."

Shinobu chuckled again. "I don't think so; I'm kind of used to my brown hair, even if it is kind of plain. I'm kind of used of your black hair, too, now that I think about it. After all, it's been like that ever since I met you back in grade school."

"But all the guys would think it was really cute, don't you think?" Lum persisted with a grin. "I'd bet we'd be a big hit!"

"Well..." Shinobu began, feeling herself cave in. "What color do you want to dye your hair anyway?"

"I don't know; something that's not so black and dull," Lum answered. "Something like blond or red; something that will really stand out." Her grin widened. "Or maybe I'll go really crazy and dye it something like blue!"

"Blue?!" Shinobu questioned and both girls fell into a fit of hysterical giggles as they stepped into their classroom and took their seats near the window, Shinobu in the seat in front of Lum.

As class began, Lum frowned, her bored eyes gazing out the window as the teacher began his lecture. She sighed, watching the birds whisk across the sunny skies as free as any creature could be, and she wished she could be out there with them, flying freely among the clouds.

Suddenly sensing someone looking over at her, Lum turned her head around to spot one of the male students staring at her - Ataru Moroboshi, she thought his name was - with narrowed, suspicious eyes. Lum blushed and gave him a half-smile as well as a little wave. Then, in embarrassment, Ataru quickly turned his eyes from her and to the front of the classroom, his cheeks burning red.

"Ataru Moroboshi?!" Shinobu questioned in surprise as the two girls sat outside on the grass for lunch that afternoon. She laughed. "You can't really be serious!"

"I am!" Lum exclaimed, laughing as well. "He was looking over at me and smiling!"

"No, not that!" Shinobu declared, giggling. "I meant that you're actually interested in him; everybody knows that Ataru Moroboshi is a lecher!"

"Well, I know that," Lum replied with a smile. "But I think if he had the right girl, he might actually kind of commit, you know?" She then grinned deviously and added, "Besides, he's kind of cute, don't you think?"

"Cute?" Shinobu laughed, shaking her head. Then, she asked, "Besides, what about Shutaro Mendou? Now HE'S cute AND he likes you! I don't see why you haven't gone out with him yet."

"Because," Lum began with a simple glint in her eye, "I don't like him. I mean, I like him and everything, just not...that way." Her face turned pink and she chuckled in spite of herself. "Well, you know what I mean!" she exclaimed. "Besides, I think the bigger question is why YOU haven't asked him out yet!"

Shinobu's face turned red and she immediately shook her head. "Oh, no! Why would I - I mean - he likes you and everything, anyway, so - "

"That's because he simply doesn't know any better," Lum insisted, cutting her off with a sly smirk. "You know how boys are; they don't get anything unless you hit them over the head with it, and even then they sometimes still don't get it. Besides, I think you two would make a really cute couple!"

"You think?" Lum closed her eyes with a grin and nodded. Shinobu's face turned redder and she quickly shook her head again, deciding it would be best to change the subject, "Anyway, are you still thinking of dying your hair blue?"

Lum laughed. "Oh...I don't know...maybe!"

Shinobu giggled. "Really?"

"Well, it would be different, right?"

"But I don't see why anyone would want to be THAT different," Shinobu argued with a chuckle, but her eyes soon became inquisitive as she looked up at Lum, putting a finger to her chin in contemplation.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing; it's just that, now that I think about it, I don't think you'd look all that bad with blue hair," Shinobu commented. "Actually, I think it might look good on you. Normal, even."

"Normal?" Lum asked and then began to giggle. "Yeah, right," she said, crossing her arms. "That's what you said about the leopard bikini and we all saw how that turned out."

"What?" Shinobu said with a laugh. "I thought it looked good on you!" And both girls fell into giggles again.

Lum's giggles abruptly ceased, however, when she spotted Ataru walking across the grass on the other side of the schoolyard. "Look! There he is!" Lum exclaimed, pointing at him.

"Huh?" Shinobu asked and looked to where Lum was pointing.

"I'm going to go and talk to him!" Lum exclaimed and quickly jumped to her feet, running over to him.

"No! Wait! Lum!" Shinobu cried, reaching out a hand, but it was no use for Lum was already halfway to Ataru.

"Oh, wait! Excuse me!" Lum called out and then ran in front of Ataru, causing Ataru to stumble to a halt. "Hi!" she said with a nervous smile, cheeks pink. "I saw you looking at me before."

"Oh," Ataru replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "You just reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago. But you couldn't be her."

"Oh..." Lum trailed off with some disappointment, and looked down at her feet. Then, she perked up a bit, and asked, "Well, what was this girl's name?"

"Her name was Lum," Ataru answered.

"Hey, that's my name!" Lum exclaimed, placing a hand to her chest as to indicate this.

"Really?" Ataru asked and Lum nodded. He frowned, though, and replied, "But Lum had blue hair."

"Blue hair...?"

Ataru nodded. "And she had these horns and she used to fly about, and call me Darling. I think she was in love with me." He laughed sadly, longing for the memories, and scratched the back of his head as he averted his sad eyes from her. "She really was something...I wish she was still around, but she just disappeared one day, as if she never existed at all. Hey, maybe she really never did exist at all." He let out another bittersweet chuckle, a regret in his forlorn eyes as he lifted them to her and Lum frowned, unsure what to say to him. "But it was nice meeting you, um, Lum," he told her and extended his hand to her.

"Nice meeting you, too," Lum answered, trying to smile as she took his hand. But as soon as her hand wrapped around his, she let out a gasp and her eyes widened as they looked into his, her memories somehow playing out in his eyes. She froze in her

surprise, and Ataru released her hand, not noticing the revelation in her eyes, and started walking away. "Darling..." she whispered,glancing down at her hand that still hung in the air. She then gasped again, looking up and exclaiming, "Darling! No, wait, Darling!" she cried, running after him, as her black hair slowly grew into her blue hair and her horns growing back onto her head while her school uniform slowly shed away to reveal her leopard bikini. And as her feet slowly lifted off the ground, clad in her knee-high leopard boots, she cried out after him still, "Darling, it is me! Lum! I do exist, Darling! I do!" But everything around her faded again into night, and she found herself in a dark field, a black, moonless sky above her. She let out a sob and her feet fell to the dark grass, as she stared down at her feet. "And I do love you...Darling..."

"Would you care for a dance, my lady?" a familiar voice came to her and she looked up to see Ataru, dressed in his southern gentleman attire from earlier, and with a charming grin and an extended hand.

Lum shook her head, wrapping her arms around her cold shoulders. "But you - you're not, Darling. I know that you're not Darling." But he just continued to smile at her and brought his hand closer to her. And Lum started crying, beautiful tears falling from her eyes as she shook her head still, wishing it wasn't so; that she hadn't lost her darling Ataru to be replaced by an empty version of him, one that she had somehow selfishly wished for, and she hated herself because of it. Then, realizing it was no use, she raised her head, her last tears falling down her cheeks, and she accepted the illusion's hand and her own punishment.

As the two began to dance, the field became a beautiful valley, vivid and full of life, and the night sky brightened to the day, and the image of the made-up Ataru faded away until the somber-eyed Lum was only dancing with herself and the wind in the lonely valley.

And the red-haired man grinned as he saw her arrive in the valley only a few yards away from Shutaro, who laid in the grass. Still standing behind the weeping Shinobu, the man with the curly red hair grinned and then slowly vanished out of the valley to capture the last one of the four - Ataru Moroboshi.

The "Always and Forever" Scenario

"I'll always be rich, I'll always be young, and I'll always be handsome," Shutaro remarked matter-of-factly. "And Moroboshi will always be an idiot."

"I'll always be plain, I'll always be alone," Shinobu listed glumly. She then sneered and added, "Men will always be idiots, and Ataru will always be a lecher."

Then Lum grinned with an excited giggle and exclaimed, "Darling and I are going to be together, always and forever!"

And Ataru Moroboshi gulped.

The Case of Ataru Moroboshi (The Ataru Moroboshi Project)

The trial had begun sometime ago and Ataru frowned, knowing that it wasn't going all that well. Shinobu had now taken the stand and was listing off every flaw she could find in Ataru.

"Let's see - well, he's a pervert, and he's lazy, and he does poorly in school. He's also very insensitive and he treats his wife, Lum, horribly. He ignores her all the time, he never buys her any gifts, and he always is hitting on other woman all the time," Shinobu told the judge and the jury, and Ataru gave her a scowl while she sneered at him in contempt. "He's also very rude and he never takes anything very seriously," Shinobu continued on. "And he's very juvenile, he's petrified of even the slightest form of commitment, and he's not very smart, either."

"Thank you, Miss Miyake," the judge told her and gave her a nod, and Shinobu rose from the witness stand and went back to her seat. The judge then gave a thud of his mallet and called, "Next witness!"

Shutaro was up next and he smugly took his seat at the witness stand. Ataru just rolled his eyes. The judge then asked, "Tell me, Mr. Mendou, about the defendant, Mr. Ataru Moroboshi."

"Well, let's see," Shutaro began with a devious grin. "He's, most definitely, everything Miss Shinobu mentioned. Lazy, rude, lecherous, stupid - VERY stupid - and he has absolutely no manners whatsoever. A REAL gentleman treats a woman with respect, especially one of Miss Lum's caliber, instead of coldly mistreating her."

"I object!" Ataru exclaimed, standing up and slamming his hand against the table. "I never 'mistreated' Lum! And who's Mendou to talk, anyway, after everything's he's done? He's just as big of a lecher as I am!"

Shutaro just gave his a sneering glare before haughtily crossing his arms and looked away. Meanwhile, the judge ordered, "Objection overruled! The witness may continue."

Ataru slumped angrily back into his seat while Shutaro smiled arrogantly. "Thank you," he said to the judge before continuing on. "Firstly, I have you know that I am not a lecher; I'm a womanizer. There is a difference, after all. A womanizer treats many woman with respect, whereas a lecher doesn't treat any woman with any respect, which is the case of Ataru Morobishi," Shutaro explained.

"Ha!" Ataru snapped sardonically and the judge let out an angry growl.

"Mr. Moroboshi! Silence or I will hold you in contempt of court!" The judge turned back to Shutaro and, as soon as his back was turn, Ataru stuck his tongue out at him. The judge glared back at him for a moment and Ataru smiled, feigning innocence. With an annoyed sigh, the judge then looked back to Shutaro and said, "Continue."

"Well, I'm not sure that there is much more left to say," Shutaro answered, grinning slyly. "It's all painfully obvious; Ataru is, simply put, a selfish, stupid, lazy, ugly and unlucky lecher - with not even a shred of gentlemanly decency in him - who, for the most part, is cruel and unfeeling towards Miss Lum. Oh, and did I mention the stupid and ugly part?"

"Yes, Mr. Mendou..." the judge answered, placing a hand to his forehead as if he had a headache. "Is that all?"

"Yes; I believe that will suffice," Shutaro said and stood up, walking swiftly back to his seat, although making sure to give Ataru a cruel smirk and a snicker as he did.

"Up next is the defendant, Mr. Moroboshi," the judge stated. "Ataru Moroboshi, please take the stand." Ataru, mumbling a few profanities under his breath, reluctantly did so, and slumped irritably into the witness chair. "Now, Mr. Moroboshi, do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I don't need to say anything for myself!" Ataru argued stubbornly, crossing his arms and slumping further down in his seat. "I haven't done anything wrong; it's Lum that's the one who's always causing me problems, shocking me and not letting me get with any girls! Yet everyone complains about her problems! Well, I never asked for her to come here, anyway!" Ataru then immediately rose from the witness stand and marched angrily back to his seat, which he slumped angrily into as well.

The judge shook his head in disgust of Ataru Moroboshi, and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself, Mr. Moroboshi! Ashamed!" Ataru just glared away with a scoff. "However, before I pass your sentence - which will be, most undoubtedly and indefinitely guilty as charged - I must call one more person to the stand, the Oni Lum."

Lum, with a pleasant smile on her face, flew up from her seat to the witness stand, and took her seat, crossing her arms and laying her hands politely on her knee. "Now, Miss...er...Lum, is what Miss Miyake and Mr. Mendou said true? Is Ataru Moroboshi everything they said he was - a self-indulged lecher?"

Lum just giggled and nodded, replying, "Oh, sure he is."

"Even Lum turns on me..." Ataru grumbled miserably as he rested his elbow on the table and his chin glumly into the palm of his hand.

"And stupid and lazy and ugly?" the judge continued

Lum nodded once more, closing her eyes as her smile widened. "Yes, I would say so."

"And does he ignore you and speak rudely to you?"

"Often," Lum answered cheerily as she cocked her head to the side, her blue hair swaying to the side with it. She then opened her eyes and said, "But all of that's all right, really; I don't mind."

"Huh?" the judge asked in puzzlement as everyone in the courtroom began to gasp and murmur in the same confusion. "What do you mean?"

"That it doesn't bother me," Lum replied, still smiling. "After all, he wouldn't be Darling, otherwise. And I love Darling, and I know he loves me, and that's all that really matters." Her twinkling eyes then met Ataru's surprised ones, as he stared at her with a gaping mouth and his heart sinking to his stomach in his guilty. Then, with a happy grin that was for him and him alone, she asked him, "Isn't that right...Darling?"

* * *

Ataru shot up in bed, his breathing labored, and beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. The clock read one o'clock in the morning and the night sky was out, hanging over their quaint little home in Tomobiki. Ataru then looked down at Lum, who slept peacefully beside him, a dreamer's smile on her face. His eyes quickly jumped to the portrait of him and Lum on his wedding day that hung in their bedroom, Lum with a happy grin on her face and he, with a panicky sort of smile. Dropping his gaze back down to his beautifully sleeping wife, he suddenly felt that panic return to him and, fear growing in his face, he let out a whimper and pushed the covers off him, hastily getting out of bed and making his way to the closet.

He swung open the sliding doors and bent down, pulling out a suitcase and threw it onto his half of the bed, popping it open with his trembling hands. He glanced back down at the sleeping Lum and frowned in his guilt. But he just shook it off, his panic quickly replacing his fleeting moment and guilt, and he turned to the dresser, yanking open the draws and shoving clothes into his suitcase. After doing this a few times, clothes hanging from the dresser draws, laying on the floor and bed, and hanging out of Ataru's suitcase. But Ataru ignored this, and, still panicking, sped over to the closet to get some pants and a couple of jackets.

"Darling?" Lum's voice came quietly and Ataru gasped, the clothes dropping out of his arms and onto the floor. He turned around to face her with a wince, the fear and guilt swarming his face and mixing together to form one horrible emotion churning in his stomach and coming out of his eyes. She was now awake and sitting up in bed in the dark, an innocent bewilderment in her face as she looked at him. "Darling, where are you going? Why are you packing?" When he didn't answer her, she frowned, and her breathing grew harsh, as worry replaced her confusion, realizing what he was doing. "Dar - Darling...?"

But Ataru could not see her; he could only see past her, out the window - at the white picket fence that surrounded their home - and him.

* * *

"You know, you're a real idiot, Moroboshi," Shutaro told Ataru as he walked alongside him at the carnival. "Any man would kill for a woman like a Miss Lum, and yet you throw her away like she's nothing."

"I don't just throw her away," Ataru argued, but Shutaro just shook his head. "Besides," Ataru continued, "it's not like she's perfect herself, you know. She's super needy, she's super bossy, she's super clingy, and she's super - well - she's super something else, too! I just can't think of it at the moment, that's all."

Shutaro just let out a sigh. "How a luckless loser like you ever got a beautiful alien princess to fall in love with you, I swear I'll never know, Moroboshi," he muttered. He then stopped walking and asked, "Why won't you go on the carousel with her, Moroboshi?"

"Because."

"That's not an answer, you idiot."

"I don't see why it isn't," Ataru mumbled and he crossed his arms, glaring away. "Besides, I don't know why she gets to have her way all the time. God knows I never do." Shutaro chuckled sharply at this and Ataru looked at him with vexed eyes. "What's so funny?" he questioned.

"The only reason why you don't get your way is because you're an obnoxious, unlucky moron who makes your own trouble; it has nothing to do with Miss Lum, as hard as you try to blame your misfortune on her," Shutaro told him flatly. "Women can't stand you because you're basically stupid, ugly, and perverted, simple as that. In fact, if it wasn't for Miss Lum, you probably wouldn't be as popular as you are now, although I suppose that's not saying much considering your current level of popularity is pathetic at best, especially among woman. Still, you should thank your lucky stars - or unlucky, as the case may be - that Miss Lum loves you so much, or you'd probably be more miserable and more unfortunate than you are now.

"And as for Miss Lum," Shutaro continued on matter-of-factly, "I can't see how she gets her way all the time, when the only thing she ever really wants is for you to stop being an idiot all the time and stay faithful to her."

Ataru frowned, shoved his hands in his pocket, and kicked at the ground. "I don't see what I'm supposed to do about it, anyway, Mendou."

"You're not supposed to do anything about it, you moron," Shutaro answered with some annoyance. "You are who you are and she is who she is, and she fell in love with you the way you are, no matter how lecherous and stupid you may be. As much as I hate to admit it, I suppose you must be doing something right, Moroboshi."

And Ataru's eyes, as if on instinct, looked to his right to see the carousel, it's lights sparkling and it's melody dancing in the air. It was all but empty except for Lum who sat on one of the unicorns, laughing happily as it went up and down and twirled about. Yet, Ataru frowned in dismay as he watched her, despite the excitement twinkling in her eyes, for as happy as she was, she was happy without him, and Ataru knew very well that he could never be that happy without her. A fear grew inside his throat as he watched her laughing, a fear that she would soon realize what he had known all along, that she could make her own happiness without him, a better happiness even, and would then finally leave him for good.

And Ataru got to thinking that Shutaro really had been right with all that he had said, except for the last, for Ataru knew he had done nothing right at all.

* * *

"Lum!" Ataru called out as he walked around the schoolyard. "Lum, where are you?" He sighed in aggravation, carrying his briefcase over his shoulder. He muttered, "She's never around when I need her..." Spotting Shinobu talking to a few other schoolgirls, he headed over to her, and asked, "Hey, Shinobu, have you seen Lum? I can't seem to find her anywhere."

"Lum?" Shinobu asked in bewilderment. "Who's Lum?"

Ataru chuckled. "Very funny, Shinobu," he said sarcastically. "Now where is she?"

Shinobu scowled. "You idiot, I have no idea who you're talking about," she told him and turned her back to him, starting to chat again with her classmates.

Glowering, Ataru snapped, "Fine! Be stubborn!" He then marched off. "Lum! Hey, Lum!" he called angrily. "Lum!" It was then that he knocked into Shutaro.

"Moroboshi..." Shutaro muttered through clenched teeth. "You idiot!"

Ataru ignored him and asked, "Hey, Mendou, have you seen Lum? I tried asking Shinobu about it, but she's all being weird about it; I guess she must be angry at me or something."

"Lum?" Shutaro questioned, just as Shinobu did. "Who's Lum?"

"You have got to be kidding me!" Ataru exclaimed. "You know! Lum!"

"I have no idea who you're talking about," Mendou told him and brushed past him, nearly shoving Ataru over in the process.

"Come on! You know Lum!" Ataru insisted as Shutaro walked away. "Blue hair, horns, shocks me a lot - that Lum."

Shutaro now broke into a fit of hysterical laughter and Ataru frowned. "Blue hair? Horns?" he asked and started laughing

harder. "How ridiculous!"

Ataru now scowled angrily. "It is not ridiculous!" Ataru defended himself. "She's an alien; she's supposed to have blue hair and horns!"

"An alien?" Shutaro asked and laughed even harder until his cheeks turned red and he could barely breath.

"Will you stop laughing and acting like you don't know her and tell me where she is?!" Ataru shouted in frustration, raising a stern first, but Shutaro was now on the grass, having fallen over in his laughter.

"I thought you were stupid before, Moroboshi, but this!" he exclaimed as his chuckles lessened. "A blue-haired alien!" he declared and fell back into hysterical laughter and that ludicrousness of it all. Ataru's scowl grew fiercer, but he forced himself to turn away from Shutaro, realizing he had something more important to do; find Lum. So he marched off again to look for her, leaving Shutaro to his mocking chuckles.

"Lum! Come on, Lum! Where are you?" he called as he came to the end of searching the schoolyard, a dark overcast now hanging in the sky. "Lum...?" he asked quietly, worry having slowly seeped into his eyes and conquered his anger. His heart dropped and his throat began to choke with tears. He cried out on the top of his lungs, "Lum!" Yet there was no answer from her. He wiped his eyes with his arm, trying to stop himself from sobbing. It couldn't be that she didn't exist at all, could it? It would be worst than her leaving him - at least then he would know that she was real, and all his memories of her were real, and that he could find her again. But as he lifted his eyes from his arm to look around the now empty schoolyard, his final hope dimming in his eyes, he feared that she really wasn't real. That he had somehow made up everything about her and only wished it was real.

Ataru shook his head, beginning to cry once more and he buried his eyes back into his arm again. "Lum..." he whispered before falling to his knees and slamming his hands into the ground. "No! She has to be real! She has to! Lum! Lum, answer me! Lum!" And when all that answered him back was the wind, he closed his eyes and let out a heart wrenching sob. "No...Lum..." he cried and his arms gave way under his heavy body , heaving with despair, and he fell helplessly to the grass.

And slowly the schoolyard changed into a valley, warm sunshine pouring down on him, and Ataru opened his eyes and lifted

his head to see a forlorn Lum dancing her own melancholy dance by herself to the tranquil silence of the valley. Ataru grinned and began to laugh, although tears were still in his eyes and running down his cheeks, and he stood up excitedly. "Lum!" he called out happily and went to run towards her.

However, as he got up, his vision started to get blurry and he frowned in confusion. "Huh?" He rubbed his eyes, trying to see clearly, but Lum and the valley were starting to get fuzzier. And, as much as he squinted to see everything, it was soon fading away in his eyes, being replaced by the bright lights of the Tomobiki Summer Carnival...

What's Next: 

Episode 7: Not Romeo, Not Juliet

Subtitle: (Love: The Problem with Losing Your Beloved)

Featuring:

-The Tomobiki Carnival, Part Nine (An Explanation to the Cerebral Stupidity)

-Question Number Three: Is This the Valley of...?

-Ataru's Overture, Full Version

-Darling! (Memories of...)


	7. Episode 7: Not Romeo, Not Juliet

Hi, everyone! Sorry this took so long to put up. I was kind of hoping (and waiting) for a couple more reviews, particularly from Maria and Vicki since they seemed to have been reviewing each chapter, but that's all right. But thanks to Damien for the very nice review! It's very appreciated!  
  
Anyway, this is chapter 7, the second to last chapter in the story! It's, again, another Lum, but mostly Ataru focused chapter (although both Shinobu and Mendou are in it), and the title of the whole story (Return to Me) actually comes originally from this chapter, although the title could be interperted in other ways. Anyway, a lot of the parts in this chapter are cute and funny, and I really enjoyed writing a lot of this chapter, especially the ending. Also, (finally!) there will be some explanations to everything that's been going on (and another UY cameo, to boot!). Since I don't want to give anything away, I won't say anything more. I just hope that everyone likes this chapter as much as the rest and they won't be disappointed (with the explanation or anything), and I also hope that chapter eight (the ending) won't be disappointing either, especially since everyone who's reviewed so far seems to really like the story...but I'll try not to worry about that now, lol!  
  
So, I hope you all enjoy chapter 7! Have fun reading!  
  
Episode 7: Not Romeo, Not Juliet  
  
Subtitle: (Love: The Problem with Losing Your Beloved)  
  
The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Nine (An Explanation to the Cerebral Stupidity)  
  
"Ah!" Ataru cried in surprise as the bright lights of the carnival flashed into his eyes, blinding him, and he fell backwards, falling off the bench and to the ground with a thud. "Ow…" he muttered, rubbing his rear end as he felt it begin to bruise.  
  
"Well, at least I woke one of you up before it was too late. Unfortunately, it had to be you."  
  
"Huh?" Ataru looked up to see Sakura standing in front of him. "Sakura? But what are you doing here?" he asked as he got to his feet. "And when did it get so dark out…?" he asked, noticing the night sky and all the florescent lights shining brightly on the rides as people cheered and laughed as they spun around.  
  
Sakura sighed and put her hands in her pockets. "I sensed a disturbance and so I came by to check it out; I should have known it had something to do with you, though."  
  
"Me?" Then, growing frustrated, he questioned, "What are you talking about?! What's going on?!"  
  
"Take a look," Sakura said and gestured to his right.  
  
Ataru curiously turned his head and let out a startled cry to see Lum, Shinobu, and Shutaro all sitting at the table in the food court, eyes wide, unblinking, and hollow, and their bodies unmoving other than to breathe. Their food from earlier that evening was still on the table, where they had left it, and the music box broken on the ground. The three looked like statues sitting there, and Ataru pointed at them in a panic and shouted, "What's wrong with them?!"  
  
"There in a catatonic state…or something like that," Sakura answered. "It's sort of like a coma."  
  
"A coma?" Ataru asked with a frown and then went up to Lum, and snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. Yet she did not flinch.  
  
"You were like them, too, only a moment ago, actually, until I broke you out of it; they all seem to be permanently locked in it, however. And you were close to being permanently stuck there, too, but I luckily woke you up before it happened."  
  
"Stuck? Stuck where?" Ataru asked.  
  
"In your head," Sakura answered. "In a made up world of illusions."  
  
"What?!" Ataru exclaimed and he looked to the others with a panicked face. "You mean to tell me that they're all stuck inside their own thoughts?"  
  
"No, that's not entirely it," Sakura corrected him. "It's seems that, somehow, all four of your subconscious merged together to form one subconscious, one world that you all created together and none of you ever even realized it. You've been all slipping in and out of this subconscious world throughout the whole day, although you were all unaware of it, and it grew progressively stronger as it fed on your thoughts until you were no longer able to get out of them. I pulled you out, however, right before you were trapped there yourself. It's pretty much an alternate dimension made up of all four of your minds mixed together."  
  
"Oh…" Ataru trailed off, frowning as he looked at the others with their blank, dull eyes. "So…it's like a mix of all our biggest fears and desires?"  
  
"No," Sakura again corrected him. "Yes, that's there and might be the most prominent, but it really comes from anything any of you have seen and heard throughout your entire life. Parts of it might be something pointless and silly that you don't even remember - it's everything that's in your mind - all four of your minds - whether it be something always on the top of your head or something that's been lost to the recesses of your subconscious years ago."  
  
"But…how did we do that?" Ataru asked, still confused.  
  
"A small, formless, and personality-less apparition," Sakura replied matter-of-factly. "It's more like an undefined ball of energy really. Anyway, it latched onto all four of you, it seems, and from a combination of all of your thoughts, you helped it grow and created it's form and personality, and eventually you all created it into a monster that trapped you into an eternal comatose state, frozen in your own minds. It's what you all somehow molded with your subconscious thoughts from a small piece of energy that eventually got out of control."  
  
"We created it?"  
  
Sakura just gave him a nod and said, "Now, tell me what you remember from the world."  
  
"Uh…" Ataru trailed off to think for a moment. He then replied, "I kind of remember a valley…and a talking goldfish with wings."  
  
"Talking goldfish with wings, huh?" Sakura said with a chuckle and a smirk. "Well, you kids sure have one strange imagination; not that I shouldn't expect it. It's good, though, that you're starting to remember some things. That means if you can remember things from your imaginary world here in reality, then you should be able to remember reality when you're in the subconscious world. And, hopefully, by the time this is over, you'll all be able to remember everything, whether it be from your subconscious world or not."  
  
"But…how do we wake them all up?" Ataru questioned now.  
  
Sakura casually replied, "We don't."  
  
"What?!" Ataru shouted in outrage. "You can't be serious! We have to wake them up!" He then turned frantically to the three and took hold of Lum's shoulders, shaking her wildly. "Wake up, Lum! Wake up! You have to wake up!" But Lum's body remained lifeless.  
  
Sakura let out an annoyed and frustrated sigh. "You idiot! That's not going to work and that's not what I meant!" she shouted, taking Ataru by the ear and painfully yanking him away from Lum and onto the ground. He let out a groan of pain, but Sakura just scoffed as she glared down at him. "What I meant was, YOU have to be the one to wake them up; I can't."  
  
"Why not?" Ataru asked looking up at her from the ground before he started to get to his feet.  
  
"Because I don't have access to this subconscious world," Sakura explained. "The only people that have access to it are you four, and since you're the only one that now has a basic understanding of reality, it's up to you to pull them out of their, since now it has to be done from the inside out, as opposed to when I pulled you out from here, in reality. The only words they can hear is in this new dimension that you all created and so the only way they'll snap out of it is if you can get them to remember reality while they're still inside their subconscious world."  
  
She then continued on, "As for all the other people you may or may not have saw in this cerebral dimension of yours was simply you all giving the apparition different forms, whether it be one person or a crowd of people. And even when you thought you saw Lum, or Mendou, or Shinobu, it might really have been the apparition taking on a form of a memory or an imagined memory you have of them, or a combination of your memories and one of the others' thoughts.  
  
"However," she then began, "it will be dangerous for you to go back in there, because, as soon as you do, your subconscious will become your reality again, and you'll forget that this reality - the real reality - exists. That's why I'm waiting for that stupid fortune teller to come back…"  
  
Ataru blinked in surprise. "Fortune teller…?"  
  
It was then that the infamous Wazuka Nozomi Suzambo III came running up, with her bushy hair, thick-round hair, and long gray robe. In her hand she carried a necklace with a white crystal hanging from it. "Here it is!" she exclaimed as she approached. "I found it!"  
  
"Good," Sakura said. "Now let's get on with it."  
  
"What's that?" Ataru asked, pointing at the crystal Wazuka was holding.  
  
"This is so you know what's really going on when you go back into your subconscious - well, all four of your subconscious," Sakura answered, snatching the necklace from Wazuka and tossing it to Ataru. She then sternly warned, "Don't take it off." Ataru caught it and looked down at it for a moment as it laid in his palm. He then gave Sakura a nod and put it around his neck.  
  
"I don't know why I'm actually helping you all," Wazuka commented and then shot a glare at Shutaro. "Especially HIM." She leaned over and whispered to Ataru, "Maybe you could, I don't know, forget and leave him there?"  
  
"AHEM," Sakura cleared her throat, giving Wazuka a stern look.  
  
Wazuka immediately stood up straight with a nervous laugh and scratching the back of her head. "Just kidding!" She then said, "Still, after you all blamed me about your fragmented futures when it was really your own fault to begin with because of this whole screwy subconscious mind thingy you created! Don't you know that creating another dimension always ruins the balance!" She let out an exasperated sigh and muttered, "And to think I gave you all half price!" Then, shaking her head, she marched over to Shutaro and pulled his wallet from the back pocket of his pants.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing?" Ataru asked curiously.  
  
"Getting the rest of my fee, that's what I am doing!" she exclaimed. "And, of course, having you pay for the necklace and for the rest of my help here. After all, you can't get something for nothing, you know!" She chuckled at her own choke as she pulled out a couple hundred yen from Shutaro's wallet, shrugged, and left it on the table next to Shutaro, and then taking his otherwise immensely stuffed wallet into her robe pocket. "Well, it's been great doing business with you, and good luck in your whole rescuing kick. Hope I never see any of you ever again, but, hey, that's just me!" She gave Ataru a wry smirk before casually walking away.  
  
"Hmm…I really should think about charging…" Sakura commented to herself as she rubbed her chin. She then turned to Ataru. "Are you ready?"  
  
A determination flickered in Ataru's eyes as he gave her a nod.  
  
Question Number Three: Is this the Valley of…?  
  
Ataru found himself standing in a beautiful valley, the sun brightly reflecting off of the crystal that now dangled from his neck, and the flowers colorful and vivid. And he could see the others, Lum dancing with solemn eyes, Shinobu weeping by a grave, and Shutaro laying in the grass, looking up towards the sky. Ataru immediately ran up to Lum, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "Lum! Lum! It's me, Lum! Can you hear me?" But Lum silently pulled away from him and continued her melancholy dance. Ataru frowned as he gazed into her lifeless, suffering eyes. "Come on, Lum," he whispered. "You have to stop dancing and snap out of it! Lum…" he trailed off, feeling a sob choking his throat, and he shook his head, clutching onto her shoulders again. "Lum!" he exclaimed loudly, yet it was as if she didn't hear him; she just pulled away form him once more and kept dancing with her dejected eyes gazing toward the blue heavens.  
  
Ataru, frustrated, turned away with a scowl on his face, angry tears burning in his eyes and he looked toward Shinobu. Having no choice but to leave Lum for now, he ran over to Shinobu, and stood behind the gravestone. "Oh, Ataru!" she exclaimed, sobbing as she looked up to see him. "I did a horrible thing! I killed Shutaro!"  
  
"Huh?" Ataru walked around the tombstone then to see the name "Shutaro Mendou" written on it. He frowned in confusion, "But, Shinobu, Mendou isn't dead. He's right over there," he told her in his bewilderment and pointed to where Shutaro was laying.  
  
"Don't try to make me feel better, Ataru, because it won't work!" she cried before lowering her head and starting to sob.  
  
"But - " Ataru tried to protest, but her sobs just got louder, and Ataru cringed because of it. He let out a sigh and then looked to Shutaro. "Well, I guess I really have no choice…" He then walked over to him.  
  
"Hey, Mendou, get up," Ataru demanded when he reached him, standing behind his head and looking down at him.  
  
Shutaro gave him a scowl and then turned over on his side in the grass. "Go away, Moroboshi."  
  
"Mendou - "  
  
"Can't you see I'm trying to be dead?!" he questioned in annoyance before muttering, "I can't even be dead without you trying to screw it up for me…"  
  
Ataru screamed in frustration and exclaimed, "Will you all stop being stubborn idiots and snap out of it!" Panting, he fell to the grass besides Shutaro, already feeling defeated. "Now what am I supposed to do?" After a moment of contemplation, his determination returned to his eyes, and he let out a low growl as he stood up. He glared down at Mendou, a fight flaming in his eyes, and he grabbed him by the arm and started to drag him up.  
  
"Hey!" Shutaro protested as he tried to pull his arm from Ataru's grip.  
  
"You're getting up, whether you like it or not!" Ataru protested as he yanked at Shutaro's arm with all his might.  
  
"Let go, you moron! Moroboshi!" he growled furiously as Ataru dragged him to his feet. Finally, when he was standing, Shutaro managed to rip his arm from Ataru.  
  
"There! Now was that so bad, eh, Mendou?" Ataru asked with a smirk, but Mendou just scowled furiously.  
  
"Moroboshi!" he snarled, raising his hands as if to strangle Ataru. "I swear to God I would kill you if I wasn't dead already!"  
  
"You're not dead!" Ataru argued. "And you call me the idiot!"  
  
"Can't you see that Miss Shinobu has asked me to stay here?" Shutaro then asked and pointed toward the sky.  
  
Ataru scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "Um, Mendou, that's not Shinobu; that's the sky," he replied, a few snickers escaping his lips.  
  
"Well, that shows how much you know then," Shutaro snapped angrily and then, in, his huff, crossed his arms and laid back down in the grass. "Now, if you would excuse me, I'm trying to be dead PROPERLY."  
  
With an aggravated sigh, Ataru exclaimed, "Fine! Be a moron!" and then marched back over to Shinobu. "Come on, Shinobu, you have to get up," he told her, taking her arm and pulling her up.  
  
Shinobu's remorse left her for a moment and was replaced by rage. "Ataru!" she scolded as she yanked her arm from his hand. "Will you leave me alone, you jerk!"  
  
But Ataru refused to give up and then bent down, taking her by under both of her arms and dragging her up, Shinobu letting out a cry of both surprise and protest. However, when he got her to her feet, she immediately pulled away from him, and then, with her incredible strength, swung her across the valley. He landed head first, his face skidding across the ground, and he landed a few yards away from the dancing Lum.  
  
"Hmmph!" was all Shinobu remarked as she wiped off her hands and then fell back to her knees before the grave.  
  
Meanwhile, Ataru groaned angrily as he pulled himself up off the ground, dusting off the dirt on his clothes and arms. He gave Shinobu a glare, but said nothing to her, deciding to turn back to Lum.  
  
However, when he did so, the valley disappeared all around him and he was face to face with the a cruelly grinning red-haired man.  
  
Ataru's Overture, Full Version  
  
Ataru cringed and took a step back into the gray nothing, fearfully looking at the red-haired man. But he shook his head and then demanded, "Where's Lum?"  
  
"Don't worry; you'll be with her soon," he told him as he walked toward him. But Ataru took another step back, cautiously clutching onto the crystal that he wore. But the red-haired man laughed. "Don't you get it?" he began as his body began to morph into the man that had given him and Shutaro hats at the parade. "I know what that is. I know everything you know, and all the things you've forgotten as well." He then changed again, into the Queen, and continued on, "There's no use fighting this, fighting yourself."  
  
"You're not real!" Ataru protested, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "None of this is!"  
  
The Queen now changed into Mr. Bean, and he asked, "Is it? How can you be so certain? If your thoughts tell you it's real, doesn't that make it real? And who are you to say that this is the made-up world and that your supposed reality is the real one? Maybe it's the other way around." Ataru, however, continued to shake his head, and tightened his grip on the necklace.  
  
"Where's Lum?" he demanded again. "I want you to let her go! And the others, too!"  
  
"Me?" Ryuunosuke now asked, Mr. Bean having changed into her now, and she gave a cruel laugh. "You idiot! Haven't you figured it out by now?" Ryuunosuke then changed into Megane, "By asking me, you're simply just asking them - and yourself."  
  
Ataru looked up now to see Ryuunosuke change into Shutaro and he took another step back. "Moroboshi, are you that stupid? Don't you get it - I'm all of you. Miss Shinobu…" He trailed off as he transformed into Shinobu.  
  
"Shutaro," Shinobu continued, "Lum…"  
  
Shinobu then transformed into a smiling Lum, who finished with a giggle and arms wide open to him, "And you, Darling!"  
  
"Lum!" Ataru exclaimed, and released his hand from his crystal, reaching out to her.  
  
And then the red-haired man suddenly appeared behind him and yanked the necklace off his neck. Ataru stopped and gasped as he slowly watched the crystal fall to the ground and shatter into a thousand tiny pieces that each shattered into dust, whatever memories he had left of the real world shattering with it.

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Darling!" Lum, wearing an apron over her leopard bikini, oven mitts, and a bit of flour under her cheek, declared happily as she placed the cake on the kitchen table of front of Ataru. Ataru immediately winced in disgust as he stared at the lopsided cake, globs of icing dripping off the top and to the table, and raw carrots protruding out of the sides and slices of lemon sliding about on the watery top. "It's a lemon-custard carrot cake!" Lum explained proudly.  
  
"Lemon-custard…carrot cake?" Ataru asked, placing a hand over his stomach as his face turned green at the sight.  
  
Lum nodded with a giggle. "I made it myself, just for you, Darling!"  
  
"I can see that," Ataru noted, having been a victim of Lum's notoriously atrocious cooking too many times before.  
  
Lum gave a pout now. "You don't like it, Darling?"  
  
Ataru frowned. "Well…"  
  
"Because I can try and make another one, if you don't like this one," Lum insisted, picking up the cake again.  
  
But Ataru quickly took the tray from her and said hastily, "No, no! That's all right!" And as he placed the cake back onto the table, the top of the cake imploded with a loud "glop," leaving a large crater in the center of the cake. Ataru cringed and Lum frowned.  
  
After a moment, Lum let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of her head, and said, "Well, nobody's perfect, right, Darling?" She laughed a bit more and Ataru frowned. "Besides, even if it doesn't look the greatest, it might still taste good! Here!" She then handed Ataru a spoon. "Try some!"  
  
"No way!" Ataru exclaimed, shaking his head and refusing to take the spoon from her. "I'm not eating that!"  
  
"But, Darling! It's your birthday cake!" Lum protested. "You have to at least try some!"  
  
"But…" he trailed off as his fearful eyes fell back onto the cake.  
  
"Come on, Darling!" Lum insisted, wrapping his fingers around the spoon. "Please?" She leaned close to him with pleading eyes and Ataru sighed in defeat.  
  
"Fine…" he muttered.  
  
Lum clapped happily as she stood up straight. "Yay!" she cheered with a grin. "Now, go on!"  
  
Ataru gulped as he looked back down at the cake with a cringe. Then, he took a deep breath, and said, "Well, here goes nothing!" and took a spoonful of the cake. Lum peered curiously down at him with her hands clasped hopefully, anticipating what he would say as Ataru put the spoon in his mouth. After a moment, his face turned green, and he immediately began spitting the cake out on the side of him. "Bleh!" he exclaimed as he tried to get all of the cake out of his mouth.  
  
Lum frowned and asked, "You didn't like it, Darling?"  
  
"Like it?" Ataru asked in disbelief. He then declared, "That cake was disgusting!"  
  
Lum scowled angrily, sparks flying from her. "Disgusting?!" she questioned.  
  
"Well, you try some then," Ataru said, as if oblivious to her anger, and offered her a spoon full of cake.  
  
"Hmm?" Lum asked, her anger quickly subsiding as she inquisitively took the spoon from him. She looked down at it for a moment before taking a taste herself. She winced and frowned, before beginning to spit it out in disgust.  
  
Ataru started laughing at this and Lum frowned, her cheeks turning pink with some embarrassment. But then, after awhile, she couldn't help but start laughing along with him.

* * *

Ataru sat in the living room of Shutaro's lavishly decorated mansion for Christmas Eve along with Shutaro, Shinobu, and Lum, presents all around them, some open and some closed. Ataru and Shinobu sat on the couch, Shutaro in his armchair, and Lum sat elegantly on the floor, facing the couch, and besides the twelve foot Christmas tree, it's bright lights twinkling brilliantly in her eyes.  
  
"Who's going to open what next?" Shinobu asked.  
  
Ataru gave Shutaro a smirk and asked, "Hey, Mendou, why don't I open your gift to me?"  
  
Shutaro gave him a glare and crossed his arms. "My Christmas gift to you is actually allowing you into my home, Moroboshi," he replied coldly. "And you're lucky that I was charitable enough to give you that."  
  
"Well, that's a crappy gift," Ataru commented. He then offered, "Can't I just leave and you can give me money instead?"  
  
"Moroboshi!" Shutaro snarled, already growing frustrated.  
  
Luckily, Lum interrupted before their tiff got any farther, exclaiming, "Open mine, Darling!" She then reached up and placed a gift on his lap with an excited grin. Ataru grinned himself as he tore open the wrapping paper, opened the box, and threw off the tissue paper.  
  
He frowned, however, upon seeing what was inside, and he pulled it up for the rest to see: a wooly bright yellow turtle-neck sweater with purple polka dots. Shutaro cringed at the sight of it while Shinobu had to cover her mouth with her hands as to suppress her giggles.  
  
Lum then asked innocently, "Do you like it, Darling? I picked it out especially for you; I thought it was perfect for you!"  
  
"Perfect…for me?" Ataru asked with a grimace.  
  
"Well, I suppose they're both ugly," Shutaro muttered to himself, but then cleared his throat and turned to Lum with a charming grin. "I think it's a wonderful gift, Miss Lum. Really quite…stunning…" He faltered on the last word, however, as he winced. He quickly added, "Well, let's just say you have a unique sense of taste." Lum frowned at this as Shinobu's giggles grew louder. Shutaro even was having difficulties holding back his own chuckles.  
  
"Put it on, Darling!" Lum then said, not noticing Shinobu and Shutaro snickering; all her attention was excitedly focused on Ataru. "You can put it on right over your shirt! I want to see it on you!"  
  
Ataru cringed both at the sweater and at the sound of Shinobu and Shutaro's quiet giggles. But, looking down at Lum's pleading eyes, he sighed and reluctantly gave in, pulling the sweater over his head and his arms through the sleeves. As soon as he did, Shinobu and Shutaro couldn't help but burst into an uproar of hysterical laughter until tears were in their eyes, and Ataru's face turned bright red in embarrassment. He gave them both a scowl and shouted, "Hey! Shut up!"  
  
"Oh, Darling! You look so adorable!" Lum exclaimed happily, completely oblivious to Ataru's embarrassment and Shinobu and Shutaro's laughter. She jumped up from the floor to swing her arms around Ataru's neck. "I'm so glad you like it!"  
  
"Well, I didn't say that…" Ataru trailed off, but then couldn't help but smile, even with the pink still in his cheeks, as he looked down at the happy Lum that rested her head on his shoulder, the warm glow of the Christmas lights shining on her face.

* * *

Ataru ran through the rain, holding a thin bouquet of withering flowers that had begun to fall apart in his hands, the rain beating down on it. He glanced down at his watch. "Almost midnight!" he exclaimed in a panic and then tried to run faster.  
  
"Lum!" he called as he ran through the streets of Tomobiki, running through the puddles as the cold water soaked through his sneakers.  
  
"Lum!" he called out again as he reached the park. It was then that he tripped, his feet going to fast for his body, and fell forward into a large puddle. He groaned as he looked up to see the bouquet was drenched in the mucky water along with himself and he suddenly heard the chimes of midnight coming from the clock tower. "No!" he exclaimed, tears in his eyes as he pulled himself up. "Lum! Where are you, Lum?!" Yet, as the last stroke of midnight came to an end, he lowered his head in defeat; he was too late. He began to sob, his tears mixing with the rain, as his hand trembled around the dying bouquet that now hung by the side of his leg. "Lum…"  
  
"Darling?"  
  
Ataru gasped and spun around to see a puzzled Lum standing a couple of yards behind him in the rain, wearing her green sweater poncho over her leopard bikini. He laughed in relief. "Lum!" he cried, running up to her with a big grin. "Happy Valentine's Day!"  
  
"Huh?" Lum peered down to see Ataru was holding a bouquet of flowers, brown and shriveled up and wilting.  
  
"Sorry that it's a little late," he told her with a hopeful smile that she would accept them. But he then frowned as he looked down at the dying bouquet. "And that the bouquet's not the greatest…"  
  
But Lum just smiled now, warm tears in her eyes, as she gently took the bouquet from his hands and brought it close to her chest. Ataru gazed up at her in surprise. And she said quietly as she smiled down at the bouquet, "No, Darling; it's beautiful."  
  
And Ataru then realized how much he loved to see her smile.

* * *

"Lum!" Ataru cried as he knelt in the schoolyard as he had before, right before Sakura had pulled him out of, sobbing as his fists clenched tightly around the grass. "Lum! Where are you, Lum?!" He closed his eyes tightly. "It can't be that you're not real! I can't be that none of that was real!" he exclaimed before falling into uncontrollable sobs.  
  
"No," he then told himself. "No!" he shouted even more firmly, forcing himself to get up off the grass. "What do stupid Mendou and Shinobu know, anyway?" he questioned bitterly as he wiped his tears away with his sleeve. "Just because they're too stupid to remember her doesn't mean she isn't real!"  
  
"Darling!" Lum's cheery voice cried and Ataru turned around to see her smiling at him, a white glow all around him.  
  
He laughed. "I knew you were real, Lum! I knew it!" he exclaimed as he ran up to her and threw his arms around her. Yet, as soon as he did, she disappeared, breaking into . He blinked in puzzlement as he looked down at his empty hands. "Lum…?"  
  
The sound of her giggles came from behind him and he looked over his shoulder to see her again, standing their, basked in silver light like a smiling angel for him and him alone. He grinned. "Lum!" he exclaimed and went running up to her. But as soon as he put his arms around her, she disappeared just like the last. He could feel a hole forming in his heart as tears began to stream down his already wet cheeks. "Lum?" he asked through his sobs.  
  
"Darling, what's wrong?"  
  
Ataru turned around to see he was standing to face with a brilliantly shining Lum, who looked at him with worried eyes. With a sniffle and a loud, painful sob, he slowly raised his hand to her. As soon as his fingertips touched her forehead, she, too disappeared into nothing but silvery dust that quickly faded away into nothing. Ataru sobbed, shaking his head and closing his eyes tightly, not wishing it to be true. "She has to be real…she has to be…" he told himself over and over again as he wept.  
  
"It is a bit ridiculous, don't you think?" a voice then spoke up and Ataru's eyes flickered open to see, to his surprise, himself leaning nonchalantly against the outside wall of Tomobiki High School. "A blue haired alien? In love with me?"  
  
His other self than let out a chuckle in spite of himself and Ataru felt something break inside of him, realizing that he was probably right.

* * *

Ataru stood at the edge of the cliff, a dark gray sky hanging over him and cold black rocks resting far beneath him. His feet stood at the edge, the tips of his sneakers dangling off as a few miniscule pebbles broke off from the cliff and fell to the jagged abyss below. Ataru's eyes watched as far as they could as the pebbles dropped down, although in a short moment they were gone from sight, overwhelmed by the darkness with their tiny size. He thought he heard them patter, though, as they hit the rocks, but then he thought again about it, and figured it was probably just his imagination - or maybe just the wind.  
  
"Darling!" a voice cooed and Ataru, with desperate hope in his eyes looked up from his dark fate toward the gray sky. There was a light there - a light amongst the cold ash that plagued the sky - a light that had taken the shape of a smiling Lum.  
  
"Lum!" Ataru called back and reached a hand out to the brilliant white shadow of the blue-haired alien that floated a few yards above and away from him. A few more pebbles tumbled from under his sneakers and his body froze as the figure's light danced in his eyes. But although the light danced, there was nothing but darkness in Ataru's forlorn eyes as he dropped his hand to his side, knowing full well that the girl or light or whatever it exactly was that stood before him was not Lum. Lum did not exist; she was just a figment of his imagination, just like everything else. And if she did exist, the glowing shadow before him certainly wasn't her. That's right - it was a shadow, a beautiful shadow, but a shadow nonetheless; a shadow of a memory of something that may or may not have been real. But that certainly wasn't Lum.  
  
And what if she was a memory of something that had been real, rather than the other more frightening possibility? Ataru had been toying with that question for some time now as he stood upon the cliff. There was no reason to trust what had been told to him, after all; Lum could very well exist and it could simply be his imagination telling him she didn't.  
  
Ataru frowned and looked back down the cliff to the jagged rocks. There was little left to do now, except to do the only thing he could do; it would be the only way he could find out the truth about Lum, he knew. And if he were to discover she wasn't real, death was a much brighter fate than living a life not only without Lum, but living a life knowing that all the memories he ever had of Lum were really just illusions. Besides, it was the only way Ataru could think of.  
  
Raising his head again, Ataru glanced back up at the illustrious shadow above before shaking his head resolutely and dropping his eyes from the image so his gaze was set straight ahead. Then, he took a step back, took a deep breath, and, with fear clawing in his stomach and a running start, jumped off the edge of the cliff. Darling! (Memories of…)  
  
Lum danced. The wind rustled through her hair as she slowly twirled about, raising her hands up toward the sky. Memories of Ataru flashed through her head; she could see her pulling his arm at the Carnival, leaning next to him on the Ferris Wheel, waiting on line with him in the food court. Yet her eyes remained hollow and cold to these memories, and she slowly turned again, following along with the wind as she continued on with her somber dance.  
  
And then other memories - made-up memories mixing with the real ones - came to her, and she saw herself dancing with Ataru in the ballroom, then gazing up at him on the train, and then shaking his hand as she introduced herself to him for the first time, with her black hair swaying in the wind…  
  
Lum stopped and dropped her arms to the side. She lowered her despairing eyes to her pale palms, and she stared at them for a long time, searching for something that she did not know. Her eyes glistened, wet, yet no tears dropped from them, and she raised them longingly to the warm sun. But as she stared up at it, as bright as it was, it seemed dark and cold to her, just as she felt, and she started her dance again.  
  
But Ataru's face remained in her mind, images flashing faster and faster across her memory. Yet her face was unmoved by it, somehow detached from it in her despair and guilt. Her lips, however, began to whisper, quietly at first, as if only a small breath, and the growing louder, "Darling… Darling… Darling…" forming a melody for her to dance to, as opposed to the lonely silence. But even as she whispered, her eyes still refused to remember her beloved Ataru, despite how desperately heart wished they would. It was as if all her memories were trapped inside her, and crushing her heart - only her pain reflecting out of eyes. Something wouldn't free it - her guilt wouldn't free it for she no longer deserved to remember the real Ataru Moroboshi anymore, and so she continued her solemn dance alone. Yet her whispering gradually grew louder still, as the different memories, real and fake, flashed more rapidly in her heart, and still she couldn't hear her own words.  
  
"Darling… Darling…" she whispered over and over again, dancing still as new memories came into her mind; memories that didn't belong to her. Instead, she saw Ataru talking with Sakura, then placing a crystal around his neck, shaking her shoulders as she danced, and the necklace falling off of him. The, she saw him with a birthday cake, a yellow sweater, and, lastly, standing in the rain, holding a bouquet of dying flowers just for her. Then, she watched him swallow hard and jumped off the edge of a cliff…  
  
"LUM!!!"  
  
Lum gasped, her head jolting up as she abruptly stopped her dance with the cry, "Darling!" Everything broke free then, her memories flooding into her eyes and filling them with love and life and spirit, and the sunny valley shattered all around her as she soared upward, a gray sky and a dark cliff side taking its place.  
  
She could see Ataru falling toward her as she traveled upward, still screaming out her name, and she narrowed her eyes determinedly, speeding up to meet him.  
  
"Darling!" she cried again and spread out her arms, fiery tears flinging from her eyes. Then, she caught him in her arms, wrapping them around him safely and warmly.  
  
Ataru's tightly shut eyes fluttered open to see he was floating, Lum's arms tightly embracing him, her head resting on his shoulder as they hung over the jagged darkness together. He let out a laugh and grinned wildly, swinging his arms around her in his joy as he closed his eyes again and exclaimed, "Lum! You do exist! I knew you'd come for me if you did!" He laughed again, joyously and in relief, hugging her even tighter.  
  
Lum giggled, her bright smile returning to her, and she squeezed him tighter. "And you're the real Darling! I was so scared that I had lost you, but you finally came back to me!" She then raised her head and pulled away from him a bit, although her arms still remained around him, so that she could look into his eyes. "Don't ever change, Darling," she told him with a smile. "Promise me?"  
  
He smiled back. "I promise, just as long as you promise not to ever not exist again, all right?"  
  
Lum laughed, a twinkle in her eyes. "All right. I promise."  
  
Then, Ataru asked, "Do you remember everything now, Lum? Do you remember the real Tomobiki and the carnival?"  
  
She nodded and replied with a giggle, "I even remember some of the things you remember! You?"  
  
"I remember now," he told her. "And I won't forget; not again. Not ever."  
  
"Me neither," Lum agreed.  
  
"All right then," Ataru then said, a glint of fight flickering in his eyes. "Now let's go find the others!"  
  
Lum gave him a nod, the same determination in Ataru's eyes flashing in her own, and then they began to fly upward - back toward the valley.  
  
What's Next:  
  
Episode 8: As the Houselights Dim...  
  
Subtitle: (Growing Up: The Problem with Everything)  
  
Featuring:  
  
-The Red Curtain Falls...and now, the Encore!  
  
-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Ten (Couple One, Take Two)  
  
-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Eleven (Couple Two, Take Two)  
  
-The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Twelve (The Last Step Towards...) 


	8. Episode 8: As the Houselights Dim

Hi, all! Thanks again for all the nice reviews! Actually, I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed this story (Saraton, Vicki1, Misako-chan, Maria da Meowthgirl, and Damien - thank you all!) and, also, thanks to anyone who may read and review it later! I really appreciate it!

Anyways, this is it! The final chapter! Kind of sad, isn't it? lol! Well, I'm kind of scared to put this up, because I don't know if the ending will disappoint or not, and since everyone really likes the story thus far...but I hope everyone does like the ending. It was hard to do (but what ending isn't, really?), but I did manage to get everything that I really wanted to get across (particularly in the last three parts) and have everything come full-circle. At the very least, I did have fun writing this chapter and (in my opinion, anyway) it all came out all right in the end...no pun intended, lol. I think the thing is that the big flashy climax was really at the end of chapter seven, whereas this is more of the falling action...or something. I don't know; I guess you'll all just have to read it and find out! lol! Again, I really hope you all enjoy the final chapter as much as the others and I really hope you all enjoyed the whole story!

With that (as well as a deep breath and a prayer that you all like the ending - i.e. it doesn't suck, lol), here you go! The final chapter in UY: Return to Me! Have fun reading!

A piece of the valley was missing; where Lum had once been dancing was now nothing but blackness, and the edge where both the blackness and valley met was jagged and sharp, like broken glass hanging over the sky. The valley itself had grown darker, and it's sun was fading as the sky's color faded along with the paling flowers. But Shutaro remained lying in the grass and Shinobu was still knelt by the grave.

And, in front of the black opening, hand-in-hand, Ataru and Lum stood together.

Episode 8: As the Houselights Dim...

Subtitle: (Growing Up: The Problem with Everything)

The Red Curtain Falls...and Now, the Encore!

"Now what, Darling?" Lum asked, pulling his hand from his hand so that she could wrap her arm around his instead. She leaned close to him, a fear building in her stomach.

"We have to snap them out of it; get them to remember...or something," Ataru answered.

"Then what?"

"I'm not sure...I guess we all just have to find some way out of here...and then destroy this place so we make sure we're never pulled back in." Lum nodded. "But we have to hurry up; before that red-haired guy shows up again."

"Right," Lum agreed, pulling away from him now and lifting her feet off the ground. "I'll talk with Shinobu; you try Shutaro." Ataru nodded and they separated, Ataru running over to Shutaro and Lum flying off to Shinobu.

"What do you want, Moroboshi?" Shutaro asked with a scowl as he looked up at Ataru, who now stood over him.

Ataru let out a sigh. "This is going to be hard..." he muttered miserably, but reluctantly took a seat next to Shutaro in the grass. "Look, Mendou, we have to get going. I know you THINK you're dead or something -"

"I AM dead," Shutaro corrected with some annoyance and Ataru rolled his eyes.

"Right; whatever," Ataru hastily agreed, "But - "

"I think I'm a horrible person," Shutaro cut him off, speaking very casually. He then looked over to Ataru. "Do you think I'm a horrible person, Moroboshi?"

"Now's not the time, Mendou," Ataru reasoned.

"Ha!" Shutaro declared with a smug grin, sitting up and pointing his finger into Ataru's chest. "I knew it! I knew you thought I was a horrible person! I knew it all along!"

Ataru let out a frustrated groan, slapping himself in the forehead in his aggravation.

Meanwhile, Lum was arguing with Shinobu. "But, Shinobu, Shutaro isn't dead. He's right over there."

Shinobu just lifted her chin stubbornly and crossed her arms. "Lum, I pushed him off the roof of the school," she replied matter-of-factly. "I THINK he would be dead after that."

Lum frowned. "Well, I guess he would be if you did that..." But she then shook her head and exclaimed, "But you didn't do that, Shinobu! You only think you did! I mean, we're not even in school right now; it's the middle of the summer. It was sort of like...a bad dream, that's all! One that we all have to get out of!"

"Bad dream...?" Shinobu asked, her stubbornness swaying as she looked up hopefully at Lum.

Lum grinned and nodded. "Yes! Just try to remember, Shinobu! We were at the carnival, all four of us!"

"All four of us...?" Shinobu trailed off as her eyes fell back onto the grave that she had begun to doubt.

"Hello!" Ataru, meanwhile, exclaimed as he knocked on Shutaro's forehead as if it were a door. "You're making this all up in your head!" He then corrected himself and said, "Or, well, we're all making this all up in all of our heads."

Shutaro just scoffed and slapped Ataru's hand away. "Don't be ridiculous! How could we be making this all up?"

"Well, does any of this seem normal to you?" Ataru questioned and gestured out toward the jagged black hole in the valley.

Shutaro frowned now and reluctantly replied, "I suppose you make a good point there..."

"Exactly!" Ataru declared. "And if you're the one who's dead, why would Shinobu be the angel, hmm?"

"You mean Miss Shinobu's the one who's dead?!" Shutaro asked in horror and Ataru cringed.

"No! That's not what I meant!" he quickly and worriedly exclaimed.

"Oh, good," Shutaro simply replied with a relieved smile before laying back down in the grass.

"But -" Ataru protested, but Shutaro had already laid back down, and Ataru's shoulders slumped forward as he felt ready to sulk in his own frustration. Instead, he let out an aggravated sigh and stood up, giving Shutaro a good kick in the ribcage.

"Ow!"

"Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get up, you idiot!" Ataru shouted and then continued to kick him, shouting, "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

"Moroboshi!" Shutaro growled furiously as he rose to his feet, pulling out his kantana. He raised it high, but then stopped and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Oh! I see what you're doing!" he exclaimed angrily. "Well, it won't work." He then sheathed his sword and sat back on the grass, Indian-style, and with a "hmmph!" his arms stubbornly crossed, his eyes tightly closed, and his chin raised high. And Ataru looked ready to pop open a vein.

Lum, on the other hand, was having better luck as she knelt down beside Shinobu. "You see, all our thoughts are mixed together in here, so you should be able to see what Ataru knows and what I now know if you try hard enough! You have to -"

Lum stopped, sensing someone behind her and she immediately stood up, swinging herself around to see the red haired man standing there, murder flashing in his eyes. And Lum narrowed her own vengeful eyes, a surge of electricity forming a sphere around her as she flew upward.

"Lum...?" Shinobu asked, nervously looking up at Lum, rarely seeing such rage in the Oni's eyes. Shinobu then looked over her shoulder to see the red-haired man, rising as well, wind swirling around him as did a sphere of electricity, identical to Lum's. Then, in the now gray sky, the two began to fight.

There was a large crash of thunder and bolts of lightning cut diagonally across the sky until they hit the ground, scorching and scarring the valley as they rapidly skidded across it and circled around Lum and the red-haired man as they viciously fought with one another, throwing their own lightning at each other.

"Lum!" Ataru cried out as he stared up at her. He scowled and turned back to Shutaro with clenched teeth and tightened fists. "Come on, Mendou!" he shouted. "Can't you see that Lum's in trouble?! Can't you see that we're all in trouble?!" A huge bolt of lightning then sliced hastily across the ground only a couple of feet away, smoke rising from the scorched blackened grass and Ataru cringed, jumping back in fright as it passed by.

Shinobu, meanwhile, slowly rose to her feet, as images of Ataru talking with Sakura flashed into her mind. "Did we...did we really create all of this...?" she asked as she lifted her hand towards one of the lightning bolts in the distance.

There was a loud explosion of electricity then as Lum and the red-haired man's powers collided and both went flying back, their electricity diminishing for the time being. The red-haired man landed on his back and skidding across the dirt and grass while Lum managed to keep her balance, her feet digging into the ground as she skidded back herself. She glared at the red-haired man that laid fallen and clenched her fist tightly, ready to claim her victory. Then, she opened her hands, ready to form another electricity bolt in each of her palms.

"Huh?" Lum looked down in a panic at her empty palms, electricity-less. Then, the sound of the red-haired man's snickers came to her hears and she looked up to see him getting up, brushing off the dirt with his legs.

"I suppose you don't get it, either," he said as he turned his head to her with a wicked grin. "Whatever is true in reality isn't necessarily true here, including your powers." Lum gasped, fear running across her eyes while he slowly marched toward her as it began to rain.

"Will you get up, Mendou?" Ataru questioned still, now kneeling beside him again.

"I said go away, you idiot!" Mendou argued.

"Darling!" Lum's voice cried out to him and Ataru looked back to her to see the red-haired man's hand grip around her neck and squeeze it hard, pulling her up until her feet we're dangling off the grass.

"Lum!" he exclaimed as he quickly scrambled to his feet, trying to run to her, but another bolt of lightning burned past him and he fell backwards, landing on his backside, the bolt only an inch away from his feet as it skidded by. He then called out once more, "Lum!"

"Ataru?" Shinobu asked aloud to herself and turned her eyes to see him on the grass, desperately getting up again. Then, to her surprise, she saw Shutaro lying past him. She blinked in puzzlement. "Shutaro...?"

Her eyes then grew wide, as the realization suddenly hit her, and they shifted to where the red-haired man was, as if on instinct. His hand was still around Lum's neck, choking her, and Lum, her eyes tightly shut, desperately tried to pry his thick fingers off with her own tiny ones, but to no avail. Shinobu's eyes filled with rage as she stared at him, a scowl of vengeance forming on her face as her hands became fists; she now knew the truth And, in her anger, she started running toward him, her own piece of the valley shattering behind her including Shutaro's tombstone, leaving nothing but the blackness and a jagged edge around it that connected to the only piece left of the valley - Shutaro Mendou's.

The red-haired man grinned as he squeezed Lum's throat tighter, bruises forming on the side of her neck. However, suddenly, someone grabbed his other hand, and his grip loosened around Lum's throat as he looked back in surprise. There was Shinobu, glaring up at him in hateful anger, tears of fury glinting in her eyes. Then, with her incredible strength, she flung him across the valley, causing him to drop Lum onto the grass in the process. He landed in front of the empty hole that was once Shinobu's part of the valley.

Ataru, meanwhile, fell to his knees in the rain, beside the coughing Lum, resting her head on his laps. "Lum! Lum, are you all right? Lum!" he cried frantically.

Lum forced her eyes opened and pulled herself up into a sitting position. She nodded, rubbing her neck. "I'm okay, Darling." Ataru smiled, tears still in his eyes. "But now what are we going to do?"

Ataru shook his head. "I don't know. I still can't get Mendou to snap out of it." There was another loud crash of thunder and more lightning bolts jolted from the sky and drilled into the ground, surging and zig-zagging across the valley and the two cringed.

"Maybe if we stop thinking bad thoughts and start thinking happy thoughts we can make everything better, Darling," Lum suggested hopefully.

But Ataru shook his head once more. "Yeah, but Sakura said that this world comes from not just what we're thinking now, but from every thought we've ever thought in our entire lives, whether we remember it or not."

Suddenly, there was a high-pitched scream from Shinobu and Lum and Ataru immediately looked up to see the red-haired man in the middle of transforming into a huge, screeching, black-winged beast with four murderous red eyes glaring down at them. There mouths gaped open in horror as they watched the massive creature fly over them, a heavy gust of wind blowing at them and across the valley as it flapped its enormous wings. Shinobu raised her arm to block the wind and dust from whipping across her face as she her legs gave way to the wind, falling down to the ground with a thud while Ataru and Lum held onto each other and turned their heads to the ground with shut eyes, the flying dirt burning them as it whipped against their faces.

"Do you all dare to abandon me?! Your creation?! Your selves?!" the thing screamed in what was barely a human voice anymore and suddenly patches of grass burst into flames, despite the downpour of rain - rain that was now black like tar.

"It's times like these I wish I hadn't seen so many horror movies..." Ataru commented as he looked up, fighting the wind that bore down on him.

"Now's not the time to joke, Darling!" Lum cried, tugging on his shirt collar in her panic. There was another loud crash of thunder and both winced.

"We couldn't possibly all be so crazy as to think this all up!" Shinobu exclaimed shrilly and frantically, sitting in the grass, her hands gripping at her hair as she stared up at the sky that turned red and watched two more wings spring from the back of the black beast that screeched over them. "How could we all be this nuts?!" She then let out another scream of terror as a pieces of the sky began to break off and fall to the ground all around them, some like pieces of sharp glass and others like dropping flames, one of the sharp pieces of glass smashing right in front of her feet, and she scurried backwards until she bumped into Ataru and Lum.

Shutaro now sat up and his eyes scanned the sky in troubled bewilderment and then down at the grass beside him, a large patch of it suddenly frozen in ice and more patches froze across what was left of the valley. "Somehow...this doesn't seem quite right..." he noted and then gazed above him where the image of the winged Shinobu hung, smiling down at him and reaching a hand out to him. He smiled and went to reach up to take her hand, but just as his fingers went to touch hers, he stopped and frowned, slowly retracting his arm. He stared at her for a long time with perplexed eyes as she smiled pleasantly down at him. Slowly, he replied, "You're...you're not Miss Shinobu, are you?" There was suddenly another loud scream from Shinobu then and Shutaro gasped, looking over to where Lum, Ataru, and Shinobu huddled in fear as the four-winged beast flew over them with his four flaming eyes. He studied them for a long moment. "Miss Shinobu...?"he wondered aloud as he looked at her with Ataru and Lum, all three in immediate danger. Then, Shutaro looked up once more at the winged Shinobu with a frown, his newfound revelation reflecting in his eyes, and he gave a nod, finally understanding. He then turned back toward the winged beast, glowering furiously, and stood up, unsheathing his kantana and pointing it straight forward, fiercely gripping onto its handle with both hands. He declared indignantly, "That thing dares to call itself a part of me while laying harm to two respectable women like Miss Shinobu and Miss Lum?!" He then went to charge forward.

However, in that instant, the last piece of the valley shattered into blackness, the infernos and lightning and other monstrosities going along with it - except for the black four-winged demon that hung over them, screeching wildly as wild flames surrounded it and turned the blackness red in its glow. Yet, bathed in fire, the creature itself remained unscathed. There was a loud gust of wind then, like that of a tornado, as the pieces from the valley circled around the burning four-winged beast.

"It's about time you snapped out of it, Mendou!" Ataru shouted to him over the roaring wind when Shutaro finally reached them and knelt down beside them. "Although I don't think it did us much good!" The creature let out an ear-piercing shriek then and all four clamped their ears closed with the palms of their hands and closed their eyes tightly, awaiting their fate.

But, like a thread being pulled at the seam, the belly of the beast began to open, from the collar bone down to it's naval, a thin light cracking through that slowly grew wider as the shattered pieces of the valley began to be sucked into it. And when all the valley had gone into it, the flames, too, were whisked into the light of the beast's belly in a great gust of wind as the winged creature continued shrieking. The blackness soon began to peel away to reveal white, and that blackness was rapidly sucked into the creature's belly too. The second pair of wings melted and swung around to the front and into the belly, soon to be followed by the first pair. And, eventually, the beast imploded into itself, swallowed by the light, and leaving all silent.

Lum's eyes were the first to flicker open. "Hmm?" She dropped her hands from her ears and looked around in surprise at the quiet whiteness that now surrounded them. She then laid her hand on Ataru's shoulder and gently shook it. "Darling."

"Huh?" Ataru opened his eyes and lowered his hands, equally surprised to see the stark white.

Soon all four were standing up, curiously examining their new surroundings. "What...what happened?" Shinobu asked.

"I guess we won," Lum said with a smile.

"Then why aren't we back at the carnival...?" Shutaro questioned, placing a hand against one of the white walls that enclosed them, and Lum frowned, not knowing the answer.

"Hey, look at this." The three all then turned to Ataru, who was pointing to a small sphere of light, only a couple inches thick in diameter, if that. They all walked over to it and peered down at it in curiousity as it floated in the center of the small white room.

"What is it, Darling?" Lum asked, looking at the sphere.

"It must be that small ball of undefined energy Sakura was talking about..." Ataru decided, although still staring down at it with puzzled eyes.

"You mean to say that whole crazy mess came from THAT little thing?" Shinobu questioned.

"I guess so," Ataru answered. "And, well, all of our thoughts, too."

"It's such a cute little thing, too, don't you think, Darling?" Lum said with a giggle and Ataru folded his arms with a frown.

"Yeah, except for the fact that it tried to put us all into a coma that none of us were ever going to wake up from again," Ataru muttered.

"Well, if you ignore that part..." Lum trailed off with a frown.

"But what are we going to do with it now?" Shutaro asked. "And how are we going to get out of, well, wherever we are now?"

Ataru scratched the back of his head. "I'm not sure..." He then gave a shrug, lifted out his hand, and snatched the sphere of light in a tight fist.

* * *

When Ataru opened his hand, the tiny ball of energy had disappeared from the palm of his hand, and then noticed the necklace Wazuka had given him was laying on the ground in front of his feet. "Huh?" It was then that he looked up to see he was standing back in the carnival. He blinked a few times in surprise before grinning with a laugh. "I'm back!" he exclaimed. However, his grin quickly faded into a frown as he gasped, "Lum!" and turned around to see if she, too, was awake.

But she was already flying to him, great grin on her face, as both Shutaro and Shinobu were getting up behind her with happy grins. "Darling!" she cried excitedly as she swung her arms around his neck, and he stumbled backwards a bit, but managed to keep his balance.

"Lum!" he exclaimed, hugging her back.

"Well, at least that's over with," Sakura muttered, running her hand through her hair. "Although I don't know whether or not that's a good thing, considering now I'm still stuck putting up with you four." She then let out a sigh. "Well, at least I still have the rest of the summer off."

And then the fireworks began.

The Tomobiki Carnival, Part Ten (Couple One, Take Two)

"Wait! Miss Shinobu!" Shutaro called out, following after her as the fireworks went off behind them and the carnival rides were lit up in all their colorful lights.

Shinobu stopped and turned around to face him. "Yes, Shutaro?" Yet, as soon as her eyes met his, both of their faces turned red and they averted their eyes to their own feet. They stood their for a couple minutes in their awkward silence, the sounds of the fireworks and the carnival rides being drowned out by it. Finally, rubbing her shoulder and still looking towards the ground, Shinobu replied, "I'm...I'm sorry about pushing you off the roof, Shutaro..." Her cheeks grew redder as the two both looked up at each other again, and she hastily added, "I mean, I know I didn't REALLY push you off the roof and all, but...I'm still sorry about it." She gave him an apologetic half-smile and he tried to smile in return.

"And I'm sorry, too...for, well...everything else," Shutaro answered glumly, his forced smile quickly turning into a frown and he looked down at his feet now, as did Shinobu. They stood their quietly for another awkward moment, before Shutaro began, "Um, Miss Shinobu?"

"Yes?" Shinobu asked, looking up at him.

Still staring down at his feet, he said, "Well, I was thinking...after everything that happened...that perhaps, maybe...we could go out...more officially speaking, that is." He lifted his eyes and gave her a warm smile and Shinobu smiled back, although now her eyes dropped to the ground.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that," she said and then laughed in spite of herself, correcting, "Or, actually, maybe you do know now....after everything." She let out another laugh. "But..." She then turned around, her back facing him, and gazed up at the fireworks that illuminated the sky. "I just made a promise to myself."

"A promise to yourself?" Shutaro inquired with a frown.

She nodded and her smile widened, the light of the firework reflecting in her eyes. "A promise that for one year I'm going to live my life independently, for just me, instead of worrying about having a boyfriend all the time." She then laughed and looked to him with her bright smile. "Actually, now that I think about it, I think it has something to do with what you said."

"Me?" Shutaro asked in puzzlement. "But I didn't - "

"You asked me how come I needed someone to answer me all the time," Shinobu cut him off. "And I think you were right about something; I shouldn't need anyone to answer me. I should be content with just being me, even if I am alone. So, I thought, maybe I should try it out for awhile."

"Oh," Shutaro said glumly, although he tried to smile for her. "But...well, don't you think a year is a long time, Miss Shinobu?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile and replied, "It won't be too long, I don't think. Besides, I think it might do us both some good, don't you think?"

Shutaro let out a sigh, not wanting to give in just yet. "But, Miss Shinobu...I know I may have...upset you...but I want you to know that I really do care for you, in some way or another, and more than anyone else I can think of."

Shinobu giggled and said, "All right; how about this? If you can wait one year - and that doesn't mean you can be a playboy or anything like that while you're waiting; I mean really wait - and you still want me to be your girlfriend, well...then...we'll see. We'll even shake on it." She smiled and offered him her hand. "And it doesn't mean that we can't still see each other," she then added. "We're still friends, after all. Best friends, even! We just won't see each other as a couple, that's all." She extended her hand further.

Shutaro looked down at it and then chuckled in spite of himself, shaking his head. "All right, Miss Shinobu; it's a deal," he replied, taking her hand.

She grinned. "Yes, a deal," she said, shaking his hand. "Oh, and just call me Shinobu; after all, we are friends."

"Oh, right, Miss Shinobu," he replied and then frowned at his mistake.

But Shinobu just laughed and released his had. "So one year, starting now."

"Starting now," Shutaro repeated.

She gave him a nod and turned around. "Oh, wait! And one more thing!" She then spun back around, jumped up, and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Shutaro's face turned pink and, after the moment passed, he looked down at her to see her smiling sheepishly up at him, her own cheeks blushing as well. She then lifted a finger, her eyes glistening, and said, "Starting now."

Then, she was off, running from him with a laugh, a smile, and a wave, and she called out to him, "I'll save you a seat on the carousel, all right!"

"All right!" he called back to her as he waved, although his face still looked puzzled and flustered. Then, after a moment, he smiled as he watched her go off, and said quietly to himself, "Until next year, then...Shinobu."

Then he went to catch up with her.

The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Eleven (Couple Two, Take Two)

"Aren't the fireworks wonderful, Darling!" Lum exclaimed as she gazed up at the brilliant colors, each one reflecting in her eyes. She held onto Ataru's arm as the two sat on one of the benches at the carnival, right beside the carousel.

Ataru gave her a nod, his own eyes looking up at them in awe. "Yeah; they sure are something."

"I'm glad we didn't miss them," Lum said, but then frowned, adding, "Although, it is a shame that we missed so much of the carnival."

"Ah, we didn't miss too much," Ataru told her as he leaned back in his seat. "Besides, we still have two more hours until the carnival closes; we can do plenty of stuff in that amount of time."

She smiled and replied, "I guess you're right, Darling," leaning her head on his shoulder. She then asked, "So, what ride do you want to go on next?"

"Hmm...I don't know," he answered and then glanced over his shoulder at the carousel behind him. "I guess we can go on the carousel."

Lum's eyes lit up and she sat up straight so she could look at him, although her arm still remained around his. "Really, Darling? Do you mean it?"

"Ah...sure, why not?" Ataru answered reluctantly, giving her a smile.

But Lum frowned now and shook her head. "No, Darling, that's all right. You don't have to go on the carousel if you don't want to; I don't mind." And she smiled to prove this.

"But I thought you said you wanted to go on, Lum," Ataru argued.

"But you think the carousel is boring, Darling," Lum reasoned. "Which is all right; it's just what you think, that's all."

"Me? Think the carousel is boring? Never!" he exclaimed with a grin and Lum laughed.

"Well, maybe we can ride on one of the carriages instead of on the unicorns, because I know you'd probably be too embarrassed to go on one of them," she compromised. She then smiled, snuggled her head back onto his shoulder, and closed her eyes. "Besides, I'd rather be sitting next to you, anyway."

Ataru's face turned bright red as he stared down at her, her head peacefully resting on his shoulder. "Lum, don't you want to sit up and watch the fireworks or something?" he asked, trying to gently yank his arm away from her. But Lum just gave him a small shake of her head and let out a soft sigh, her smile widening. "But...Lum..." Ataru trailed off with a frown and slowly ceased trying to pull his arm from hers. He looked down at her again, the light from the fireworks glowing on her cheeks, her gently closed eyes, and on her lips, peacefully curved into a smile as she continued to lay on his shoulder. And Ataru couldn't help but begin to smile himself as he gazed down at her, the scarlet soon leaving his own cheeks.

He then lifted his head toward the fireworks and said, "Did I ever tell you, Lum, that I love it when you smile?"

Lum's eyes fluttered open and she lifted her a head a bit off his shoulder as she shook it. "No, Darling, you haven't."

His grin widening, he looked down at her, their eyes meeting. "Well, I do."

Lum smiled, lowering her eyes as her cheeks turned a modest pink. Then, as the finale of the fireworks began, she raised her eyes once more, closing them, and started to lean up toward him to kiss him, while Ataru's own eyes slowly closed, and he bent downward to kiss her...

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Shinobu's voice then came to them and Ataru's eyes immediately flashed open in a panic. He screamed at the sight of both Shinobu and Shutaro standing there and smiling, and his face turned beat red as he jumped up from the bench, Lum falling flat on her face onto the seat of the bench just as the last firework whizzed up and burst into nothing, a loud and disappointed "Aw..." coming from the crowd at the sight of the firework dud.

"Darling!" Lum screamed angrily as she sat up on the bunch, clenching her fists in rage.

"We weren't doing anything!" Ataru insisted to Shinobu and Shutaro and then glared back at Lum, saying, "I told you not to cling onto me like that!"

"Grr...Darling!" she exclaimed, even more furious as sparks started flying from her. "You jerk!"

Shinobu now laughed, while Shutaro shook his head and began to chuckle himself. Shinobu then said, "Come on, you guys; me and Shutaro are going on the carousel, if you'd like to come with us." And Shutaro gave a nod.

"Huh?" Both Ataru and Lum ceased in their fight, looking at Shutaro and Shinobu in surprise. "You mean, you two want to go on the carousel, too?" Ataru asked.

"You idiot, Moroboshi; of course, we do," Shutaro replied, still smiling. "Why else do you think we asked?"

Lum then grinned, her anger quickly vanishing and she jumped up from the bench herself and took hold of Ataru's hand excitedly. "Let's go, then!"

The Tomobiki Summer Carnival, Part Twelve (The Final Step Towards...)

The four friends sat on the carriage on the carousel, Lum leaning on Ataru on one side, and Shinobu and Shutaro sitting next to each other on the other side, as it spun merrily around.

"You know, this isn't so bad," Shinobu commented as she leaned back and looked up at the sparkling lights that brightened the night sky. "It's kind of peaceful."

"Yes, it is very relaxing," Shutaro agreed with a smile as he leaned back himself.

"I think it's all so pretty!" Lum exclaimed, holding onto Ataru's arm as she looked all about her at the colorful lights and listened to the happy melody the carousel played.

"It isn't even that boring," Ataru added and Lum gave him a scowl.

"Darling!" she exclaimed, but he just laughed and she couldn't help but smile herself.

"So what are you guys planning on doing tomorrow?" Shinobu asked.

"Tomorrow?" Lum asked. "Hmm...how about the beach?"

"I say we go on a picnic," Shinobu then suggested.

"Well, we still haven't visited Tokyo this summer yet," Shutaro pointed out.

"What do you think, Darling?" she asked, looking to Ataru.

Ataru shrugged and casually replied, "What's the rush? We still have all of tonight to figure out."

The three blinked in surprise, before they all smiled sheepishly , relaxed, and leaned back in their seats. "I guess you're right, Darling," Lum admitted.

"A rare occurrence, but not totally impossible," Shutaro added with a smirk.

But Ataru just grinned himself and asked smugly, "Hey, Mendou, have you seen your wallet around lately?"

"Huh? My wallet?" Shutaro asked and then went to reach for it in his back pocket, only to discover it wasn't there. He let out a loud gasp and exclaimed, "My wallet!" He glared over at Ataru. "What did you do with it, Moroboshi?"

"Oh, that Wazuka lady took it as payment for helping us out," Ataru explained with a wry smirk, a few snickers escaping his lips.

"You mean that two-bit con artist?!" Shutaro shouted as Ataru broke into a fit of chuckles.

"Actually, now that I think about it, a lot of her premonitions were kind of true," Shinobu pointed out, and they all looked to her curiously, Ataru's laughter ceasing and Shutaro's anger subsiding for the moment. "Like that 'beware of men' thing was probably because that red-haired man kept changing forms." She then looked up at Shutaro and said, "And she probably kept calling you an idiot because you were the last one of us to figure out what was going on." Shutaro tried his best not to scowl at this and the memory. Shinobu then frowned and said, "Although I don't see what a fish had to do with anything..."

Both boys eyes widened as they gasped, looked at each other, and exclaimed, "The Talking Goldfish with Wings!"

The two girls frowned in puzzlement. "What's a talking goldfish with wings, Darling?" Lum asked.

Ataru and Shutaro cringed a bit as Shinobu and Lum continued to stare, awaiting an answer. Ataru then quickly folded his arms and said matter-of-factly, "Oh, it's nothing; just manly business, really."

"Manly business?" Shinobu questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, a private matter between men - much too gruesome for two young ladies such as yourselves to hear, I assure you," Shutaro added.

"Much, much too gruesome!" Ataru concurred.

The two girls laughed then and Lum, obviously unconvinced, but not caring that she was, replied light-heartedly, "Whatever you say, Darling."

It was then that the carousel slowly came to a stop and the four stood up, smiling and starting up a new conversation as they stepped off the carousel, heading for the next ride, their talking and laughing mixing in with the rest of the crowds and the sounds of the carnival music circulating through the summer air.

And the stars hung happily in the night sky, each one its own tiny sphere of light.


End file.
